


It's (Not) a Cult

by lhr111



Series: It's (Not) a Cult [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Derek Hale, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Lydia Martin, BAMF Stiles, Bemused Sheriff Stilinski, Blood and Gore, Deputy Jordan Parrish, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Angst, Good Peter Hale, Human Jordan Parrish, Jealous Jordan Parrish, Kidnapping, Lonely Stiles Stilinski, M/M, Mating Bond, POV Stiles Stilinski, Past Derek Hale/Jordan Parrish, Possessive Derek Hale, SO MUCH FLUFF, Sassy Peter Hale, Shameless Statistics References, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John, Slow Burn, Spark Stiles Stilinski, Stiles has no idea, Stilinski Family Feels, alt-u, but not too much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:55:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 56,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22456819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lhr111/pseuds/lhr111
Summary: “Well Stiles, you told me a few weeks ago that you thought Derek was leading a cult.”At that Derek whipped his head toward Stiles in shock. “You thought I was a cult leader?”Stiles will not be shamed. “Well, either you or Peter. Peter made more sense, but since he deferred to you that one time I was a little unsure. I mean, what else could I think with all the weird shit going on. You, hanging out with random high school seniors, doing secret things, ordering them around like you are their parent, them actually doing what you tell them. It’s really weird, okay?”“Are you familiar with Harry Potter?” Derek asks.Talk about a non sequitur. “What? What does that have to do with anything? And, of course I know Harry Potter!”“Well to quote Sirius Black, ‘Once again you’ve put your keen and penetrating mind to the task and as usual come to the wrong conclusion.’"The Sheriff starts snickering, and Stiles is both insulted and also a little in love.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Series: It's (Not) a Cult [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1843000
Comments: 432
Kudos: 1994
Collections: Sterek love, Sterek to read during social distancing, SterekfaveficsbyVain





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is a long fic that I've been outlining for a while. The current detailed outline is over 20K words, so it's your best guess what that will mean after every chapter is drafted. That being said, I have essentially the entire plot figured out and I intend to post new chapters at least every 2 weeks. If I have the time and get really into it, it will likely be more frequent than that. There will be bits of humor, some cannon-typical violence and monsters, some angst in the middle, but so many feels with these two. Comments and feedback are always welcome! Rating will be earned in later chapters. ;-)
> 
> Not beta'd, and please don't post this to other platforms like Good Reads.

Stiles parks Roscoe in the parking lot of Beacon Hills High School and sits for a few minutes, trying not to freak out. He definitely did not imagine having to start a new school for his senior year, not that he had any especially close friends back in Sacramento. He tells himself that this is a good opportunity, no one knows anything about him here, no one will see him and automatically decide he isn’t worth knowing. It’s a fresh start, so this is good, not bad. Even though most people have already settled into friend groups or cliques, maybe there will be one here that he will actually fit into.

The thing is, he knows that he’s terrible at making friends. He’s social and always interested in talking to people, that was never a problem, but his ADHD paired with extreme sarcasm is often off-putting. Plus, having a cop for a father meant he never got invited to the really interesting, less-than-legal events at his previous school. Now it might be even worse, since his dad is the new county Sheriff, not just a random police officer. He sighs, grabs his backpack and heads into the building, telling himself that he will make a friend today. Just keep repeating it, who knows, it can’t hurt.

After getting registered in the main office and getting a map so he knows where his locker and classes are located, Stiles heads off to AP English Lit. He picks a seat in the middle and tries not to focus on the people staring at him. Beacon Hills isn’t a small town by any means, but a new senior is still someone people notice. He has to go through the embarrassment of stopping his teacher from butchering his first name, but then the rest of class goes pretty quickly. Next is Advanced Statistics, and here he has to sit at a lab table that he will share with another person. Thankfully he got there early enough that he didn’t have to ask someone if he could sit with them, rather he found a table that was still vacant. Better to be ignored passively than rejected directly, right? However, his worries of being ignored ended up being for nothing, because a happy looking guy wanders up to him and asks if the other seat at his table is taken. “Nope, it’s all yours dude.”

“Thanks!” He flops down into his seat and starts pulling out a notebook. “I’m Scott, I don’t think I’ve seen you before. Are you new?” Scott is smiling at him, seemingly unphased to be chatting with a new person. Stiles can’t help but smile back, his table partner gives off the same kind of innocent vibes as a puppy and his slightly crooked jaw is oddly endearing.

“Yeah, I’m Stiles. My dad and I moved here just a few weeks ago.”

“Aw, man that sucks, a new school for senior year! You are a senior, right?”

“Yup, senior. But it’s okay, my dad got a great job here so it was a no brainer to make the move.”

“Really? What does he do? Usually I don’t think of Beacon Hills as a job destination.” Scott is still smiling, and Stiles is so happy that he’s actually lucked out and met a nice person.

“Actually, he’s the new Sheriff of Beacon County, so he works mainly at the station here in Beacon Hills. We were in Sacramento before, he was a detective there but they recruited him to fill the Sheriff’s position.”

Scott looks oddly bashful. “Yeah, I think it took a while to fill the position, they were being really picky from what I hear. Your dad must be awesome if they recruited him all the way from Sacramento!”

Stiles laughs, “I’ll tell him you said so. But yeah, he is actually pretty awesome.”

Scott smiles, then turns his head forward to grab a stack of papers being handed out. He passes one to Stiles before sending the rest back. Stiles sees that it’s the syllabus and takes a look. He is pretty awesome at math and aced his previous Stats course and is excited to see what they are going to cover this year. It looks like teaching himself matrix algebra this summer will pay off! Then he hears Scott groaning next to him. “What’s the matter? You okay, dude?”

Scott sighs and looks over at Stiles. “I suck at math, man. I ended up in this course because I think I have a better chance of passing than if I had to do precalc. But fuck, this syllabus looks intense.”

“Dude, I’m great at math, and actually really love stats. I can totally help you get through, no problem at all.” And shit, there he goes just speaking impulsively without thinking. Scott has been really nice so far, but who knows if he actually wants to spend extra time with some new guy at school. This could get awkward really quickly.

“Dude, that would be awesome!!!” Stiles thinks he can literally hear the exclamation points with how excited Scott looks. Phew, worrying for nothing, apparently. “I mean, wow, I’m so glad you let me sit with you. Hey, let me see you schedule, see if we have any other classes together.”

Stiles smiles and passes his schedule over, looking toward the front of the class where the teacher is clearly getting ready to start. “Dude! We have lunch together, awesome! I’ll find you so you can sit with us.” Scott is still smiling, and Stiles thinks he may have hit the jackpot. He’s pretty sure he’s made a new friend already, and now he doesn’t have to stress about navigating the unknown social hierarchy that is the Beacon Hills High lunch.

Then their teacher starts speaking, so Stiles does his best to focus on her and take good notes. Not just for him, but also for Scott.

***********

Stiles is annoyed that he has Phys Ed right before lunch, making him even more ravenous than he usually would be. However, here he is in the cafeteria, trying not to look like a social outcast while scanning all the faces to spot Scott. It turns out that Scott spots him first.

“Stiles! Hey man.” Scott nudges Stiles with his shoulder, still smiling. “Dude, did you bring lunch or are you buying?”

“Buying.”

“Great! Follow me, I’m buying too, then we can head to the table and I’ll introduce you to everyone.”

Stiles and Scott chat happily in the lunch line. It’s chicken nugget day, so not totally horrible. Stiles happily grabs a chocolate pudding cup and after paying is following Scott like the Pied Piper through the jungle that is the cafeteria. He stops when Scott lands at a long table, currently filled with a bunch of unfairly attractive students. “Hi guys, this is Stiles. We partnered up in Stats, and he’s new to BH so I invited him to sit with us.”

Unlike the genuine ray of sunshine that is Scott, Stiles gets an uncomfortable feeling from the group at the table, like they are suspicious or something. It doesn’t make much sense, but then he’s distracted again by how good looking they all are. “Hi, and shit Scott, I’m not sure if I’m allowed to sit here with all the hot people.”

Dead. Silence. Well shit. Again, Stiles is an acquired flavor. Finally a petite girl who looks to be of Asian ancestry smiles. “Hi Stiles, come and sit down. I’m Kira.” Scott sits next to Kira and gives her a not-so-casual kiss on the cheek. Okay, well this sweet pairing makes perfect sense to him. “So, let’s do some introductions. On that end are Boyd and Erica.” Stiles notes that this also seems to be a pairing given how close they’re sitting, also they look absolutely exhausted. How weird to be so tired on the first day back to school. Then Kira points to a new duo. “Lydia and Jackson.” Wow, those two are hot, also a couple? It’s hard to tell, but they are both definitely the best dressed of the group. “And the one with the scarf is Isaac.”

Stiles gives a short wave, not willing to speak up again since his first attempt did not play to this audience. Scott, sweet angel that he is, takes over. “So guys, Stiles’ dad is the new Sheriff, Sheriff Stilinski. Isn’t that awesome?!”

This does seem to garner interest from the group, now they look more speculative rather than suspicious. “Also, he’s like a genius at Stats and has promised to help make sure I pass and actually graduate on time.”

Stiles blushes a bit because he never used the word genius, then notices that Lydia is giving him a very critical look. “So Stiles, you’re a genius? Is that right? What was your GPA coming in to BHHS? Are you taking advanced classes?”

Stiles is sure his eyes are large, because those are some pointed questions and he usually doesn’t go around telling people how well he does because usually it’s not something other students appreciate. Apparently, however, Lydia has no problem making people feel uncomfortable. “Well, um, yeah I’m in some AP courses and my GPA from my last school is over a 4.0.” Stiles just shrugs his shoulders, trying to be casual about this and not look like he’s bragging.

Lydia gets a pleased and calculating expression on her face. “Excellent. I can always use real competition for valedictorian this year. Give me your schedule, I’ll see if we share any classes.

Stiles is slightly overwhelmed, and a little bit turned on as he passes her his schedule. “Wow, a goddess and also a brain. I may be in love.”

Now, Stiles is known for just saying shit all the time that really shouldn’t be taken seriously, but he forgets that new people don’t know this. Apparently Jackson did NOT get the memo because Stiles is pretty sure the dude just growled, like actually growled. “Shut the fuck up Stilinski, you come near her and I’ll neuter you.”

Stiles can feel his balls try to run and hide because Jackson looks pissed! “Whoa, whoa I was not being serious! Dude, she’s way out of my league.” Then Boyd and Scott are grabbing at Jackson to calm him down. Lydia just smirks as if this is nothing new. She just continues on like her boyfriend (making some assumptions here) didn’t just threaten to cut his nuts off.

“We’ve got AP Chem and Advanced Calc together this afternoon. Excellent, find me in the class and we’ll compare notes.”

Jackson is growling again when Lydia whips her head around. “Jackson, stop being a caveman and get over yourself. I know you don’t want to make me angry, do you?”

Yeah, Stiles may be a little bit in love.

*********

It’s the end of his second week and he is pinching himself because it’s hard to believe how well everything is going. He actually has a group of friends, some of which are in almost every class. He has people he sits with at lunch, he is included in some pretty hilarious group text chats, and for the first time he feels like maybe he has found people aside from his parents who actually understand him.

However, this is not to say that his new group of friends aren’t a little odd. He’s noticed that on any given day there are always two who look overly tired, except for when it’s Isaac, then it’s just him. Otherwise the tired duos are the coupled pairs. It also rotates in order: Boyd and Erica, Scott and Kira, Jackson and Lydia, then Isaac. Repeat. At first he didn’t figure out the order, but then when continued the pattern including weekend nights, it fit perfectly.

At lunch he has asked a few times if they were up to something in the evenings but so far no one has fessed up to anything. He wouldn’t think too much about it, except he’s noticed the pattern and after 2 weeks it’s too regular to be chance (or as his stats teacher would say, p < .05).

He’s also noticed multiple references to an unnamed 'he'. For example, one day as he was approaching the lunch table he heard Isaac say that “’He’ said 'he' needs us to meet up tomorrow night at ‘his’ place.” “Dude, my bike is being repaired, I’ll need a ride.” “No Scott, ‘he’ said ‘he’ will give you a ride.” Then Erica piped in, “Fuck, ‘he’ was killing me with those drills last week.”

Stiles is a curious dude on a regular day, but now he’s dying to know what and who they are talking about. Maybe it’s related to the tired pairs every morning? “Hi guys, who are you talking about? What drills?”

Scott gets a very uncomfortable look on his face and everyone clams up. Stiles is now even more curious. What the hell is going on here? Kira finally responds, “Oh, it’s nothing, just some fitness drills some of us do. Helps with our sports tryouts.” Stiles waits, but no one offers to invite him to join. It hurts if he is honest that they don’t want to include him. So far the only time he sees them outside of school is when he works on homework with Scott (usually followed by Call of Duty), but he’s not willing to force the issue and alienate himself from his friends.

Then Erica, possibly trying to change the subject, starts talking about a trail she wants to run that weekend. Stiles immediately recognizes it as one in the Preserve. Without thinking he stops her. “Whoa, Erica you should not run that trail. There was a runner who was found killed near that part of the Preserve a month ago and my dad is still worried that it’s not safe. They haven’t found who or what was responsible. He said that at first they thought it was some sort of animal that did it, but there was evidence that suggests it might have been done by a person.” Stiles knows he’s not supposed to know any of this, so he doesn’t say that the evidence was weird traces of iron and rust. If those rumors spread, he’s dead meat. He also doesn’t mention that it was only the heart and liver that were missing, the rest of the torso was just ripped apart. Fucked up.

Erica is sort of smirking at him at the warning, which is frankly a confusing reaction. But then Lydia cuts in, “They have other evidence? Hm, that’s interesting Stiles.” She gives Scott a weird look like she’s saying something telepathically. Scott nods, “Yeah, I’ll tell him.”

Stiles is super confused. He’s on edge enough knowing that his new house backs up to woods that connect to the Preserve. Why his friends seem to want to hang out in that area is beyond him. But he fails miserably at getting any other info out of them. He still can’t figure out who the mystery guy is that they all keep referring to. If they are trying to keep secrets, they should NOT be stoking Stiles curiosity. One of the symptoms of his ADHD is that he can get fixated on something and that, paired with his next level research skills means he’s going to figure it out.

That afternoon he is headed home from school in Roscoe, his beloved pale blue Jeep, when he sees a gorgeous black Camaro heading toward him on the other side of the road. Fuck, now that is a nice car. Then he silently winces and apologizes to Roscoe for the mental infidelity.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got ahead of myself and have several of the next chapters drafted and edited. And because I'm totally impatient, I'm going to start posting them over the next few days. Full disclosure, I'm excited to get to parts of this story that come later so I've been working on this more than I probably should be. I don't know if I can keep up this rapid chapter release pace for the whole fic, so please don't assume this will continue. Otherwise, enjoy.

It’s the third week of school and Stiles has realized that his friends still have no intention of inviting him to their late-night activities. Whatever, he’s always been pretty independent, especially with learning to take care of his Dad at a young age after his Mom died.

He wanders downtown after school on Monday and sees a help wanted sign in the window of the local indy bookstore, Literatum. What the hell, he loves books and he could use some extra cash. He walks in and meets Stella, the owner, who looks like a 70-year-old Hippie, not an uncommon find in California these days. She asks him his five favorite books and when he stutters that he isn’t sure he can pick just 5, she hires him on the spot. They make plans for him to come in tomorrow for his first day, with some paperwork for him to complete tonight. Feeling accomplished, he heads home to make something healthy but tasty for or dinner. He _is_ going to lower his Dad’s cholesterol, dammit.

And while he’s not spending much time with his friends outside of school, there is a new development this week. It seems like everyone is touching him. Not “bad touch” touching, just random touches. For example, Scott spotted him in the parking lot this morning and ran up and gave him a bear hug.

“Heeey, buddy. What’s the special occasion?”

Scott lets Stiles go but also messes with his hair. “Nothing man, just happy to see you.”

Before Stiles can stop laughing, a tall shadow falls over his feet and Isaac squeezes his shoulder. “Hey Stiles. Have a good night?”

“Yeah, actually, I got a job at the bookstore downtown, Literatum.”

“Nice! I was in there with Kira a few weeks ago, man those old books smell funny.” Scott crinkles his nose as if he was reliving the smell of musty old books.

Stiles laughs, “Yeah, I actually love the smell. I find it relaxing.”

“Hey Stiles, Isaac, Scott!” And there is Kira, running and giving Scott a fast but hard kiss. “Come on, we need to get inside before we’re late.”

Stiles laughs, Kira has so much energy, and coming from him that is saying something. Then she’s hooking her arm with his, Scott and Isaac trailing behind them as they head inside toward homeroom. So many casual touches (a bear hug from Scott is casual, it’s Scott). Stiles enjoys it, and notices that it keeps happening throughout the day.

He wanders over to their regular table at lunch, grumbling about how the stupid lunch lady gave the freshman girl in front him an extra pudding cup, but not him. Even his winning Stilinski Smile (no, it’s not creepy, Dad) didn’t get him extra pudding. Then he is nearly shocked into dropping his tray of food when Jackson gives him a hard, but friendly, punch on the arm. Jackson grunts at him, not using real words, but still, this is progress.

Once they are all seated, Lydia calls his name. “Stiles. I heard you are now working at Literatum. Are you able to order books? In particular, rare books that they don’t sell in other stores? First Editions, things like that? What about from other countries?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure, but probably. The owner, Stella, seems open to stuff like that so I’m sure it wouldn’t be a problem. Today after school will be my first day actually working there, so I can find out.”

Lydia nods and slides him a piece of paper between lunch trays on the table. “Great. Here is a list, ordered by priority status. If you need prepayment just contact me or Jackson for a credit card.”

“Wow, okay, cool. I’ll let you know.” Stiles smiles, knowing that he’ll do exactly as she asks. He learned pretty quickly that it’s easier, and usually smarter, to go along with Lydia.

Stiles looks at the list and can’t contain his surprise and confusion. Many of these books aren’t even in English, and from what he can tell they are about ancient myths and histories. Weird. He makes a mental note to research these books when he has some extra time.

Lydia gives one of her cryptic smiles. “That’s great, it can be really hard to find a place with the credentials to order some of the rare books. Most places don’t want to put in the effort to track the really rare ones down.”

Stiles nods and clears his throat, determined not to sound nervous. “So guys, and lovely ladies, I was thinking of having a movie night this weekend, we have a couple couches and a 60” TV with surround sound. We can order pizza and whatever else we want. Would Friday work?”

There is a moment of silence that is just long enough to feel awkward before Scott speaks up. “That sounds like so much fun! But, we’re all busy Friday night, unfortunately. Sorry dude.”

Stiles waits for some additional explanation. When no one says anything else, the hurt and frustration must have been clear on his face because Scott grabs his forearm. “But, maybe Saturday? I think Saturday could work, right?” The question is directed to the group, obviously assuming (correctly) that Stiles didn’t have anything going on that day. “What do you guys think?”

As usual, it’s Lydia that makes the final call. “I’m sure it will be fine. I’ll talk to him.” Stiles would really, really like to know who ‘him’ is.

*************

Friday morning Stiles is in his kitchen before school, packing lunch and grumbling about biased lunch ladies who only give some students extra pudding. His dad wanders into the kitchen and starts laughing at his disgruntled son.

“Dad, you should be sleeping, don’t you have night shifts this weekend?”

John smiles. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll get back to sleep soon, but I need something to eat. I’m going to need all my energy tonight keeping all the lunatics in line on the full moon.”

Stiles snorts, this is a long-standing joke between the two. What is weird is that the full moon does often coincide with more criminal behavior than the average night. Stiles also appreciates that his Dad chose the term lunatic, since it derives from Latin and the root luna, meaning moon and moon crazy. Whoa, time to take his Adderall.

“Okay pops, but just a reminder I’m having some friends over tomorrow night. We’re going to do movies and pizza. You’ll probably be gone before they get here, but I wanted to let you know just in case.”

The Sheriff has a big smile. “That’s fine Stiles, I’m glad you’ve made friends. And you know the rules, no illegal substances, including alcohol since you’re not of age. No sex.”

“Hey old man, I’m 18 and totally able to give consent, sex needs to come off the no-no list!”

His Dad gets a pained look on his face and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Whatever Stiles, but safe and consensual. That’s all I ask.”

Stiles cracks up, “Oh my god, Dad, we won’t be having sex. Calm down. You make it so easy.”

Stiles finishes up with his lunch, including extra dessert because he’s better than some mean lunch lady, and heads out the door.

************

Stiles is up in his room Friday night, trying to finish up his homework so he doesn’t have to worry about it over the weekend. It’s hard though because his Adderall is wearing out, and he’s always a little bit nervous when his Dad has to work the night shift.

He’s startled by loud noises coming from the direction of his backyard. “What the fuck? No way. That seriously sounded like a howl. Oh my god, I’m talking to myself. Fuck. Time for bed.”

Lol, howling on the night of the full moon, his brain is seriously in need of rest. But there it is again, and was that a fucking growl? What the hell is going on out there? Time to close and lock his window, regardless of how ridiculous he feels. He’s never heard so much noise coming from the woods behind the house and it is not helping his current anxiety levels.

As he goes to close the window, he briefly sees a flash of two red orbs among the trees. If he was a crazy person, lunatic (hehehe), he would say they sort of looked like eyes. But they were there and gone so fast. He must have imagined it. Maybe it was some sort of weird reflection of light, maybe from a passing car? Whatever, he’s locking the windows and checking the rest of the house, otherwise he’s never getting to sleep.

He wonders what his friends are up to, is it just a coincidence they are all doing something at night on the full moon? He hopes they are far away from the Preserve if even the animals are on edge tonight. He makes a note of when the full moon is in October so he can see if they spend it together again. He’s likely making connections that are meaningless, but it’s not like anyone knows and there’s no harm in paying attention, just in case.

****************

Stiles has all the extra blankets and cushions out in addition to the couch and chairs. He’s got pizza, soda, chips and popcorn, and apparently someone else is bringing sweet snacks. Erica and Boyd arrive first, and he’s greeted with a big hug from the blond bombshell and a scruff of his hair by her giant boyfriend (somehow Boyd does this without it feeling condescending). They are both dressed for comfort in sweatpants and old, loose shirts. He notices that they both look pretty tired, which is weird because it should have been Scott and Kira on “duty” or whatever last night, not Erica and Boyd.

“Hiya, Batman! We’re the first ones here? Sweet, we get first dibs on the couch!” Erica then meanders over to the couch and practically face plants on it. “Whoa, easy on the Stilinski furniture, you break it you buy it!”

There’s a knock at the door so Stiles wanders back and lets in Scott, Kira and Isaac, getting hugs of differing strength and enthusiasm from each of them (Scott wins that contest, obviously). “This was such a great idea, thanks for inviting us all!” He finds himself hoping that Scott never loses his endearing enthusiasm. Then he notices that they all look super tired, as well. Interesting, this is something new, maybe related to whatever they were all up to last night? He wonders why last night was different. It can’t be because of the full moon, I mean, unless they were out doing some sort of archaic ritual or something, but they just don’t seem the type. He shakes his head and tries to focus.

“Welcome to Casa Stilinski, food and drinks are in the kitchen, make yourselves at home.”

Isaac smiles tiredly. “Thanks, Stiles. Hey, is your Dad home or is it just us?” Isaac looks a little anxious as he asks the question. “It’s just us buddy, my Dad is stuck on night shifts this weekend.”

Isaac’s shoulders visibly relax. Stiles smiles gently at him, but inside he’s concerned. He’s picked up signs over the last few weeks that have him worried about Isaac. He startles easily, is often skittish, and he was clearly relieved that the Sheriff wasn’t in the house tonight. Is that because he is worried about hiding something from the Sheriff? Or maybe he’s just nervous around adult men? Being a cop’s kid, he’s attuned to signs of someone who has been abused, and he’s starting to think that Isaac is either currently in trouble or was at some point. He’ll keep a watch on it and decide whether it’s something he needs to discuss with his Dad. He may be invested in keeping his new group of friends, but not at the expense of the safety of one of them. He would have no problem reporting something to his father even if Isaac wouldn’t like it.

Last to arrive are Lydia and Jackson, and while Jackson looks as haggard as he’s ever seen him, Lydia looks her normal, immaculate self. Whatever, he’s half convinced that she’s not human. Lydia is holding a pan of delicious looking brownies and he directs her to the kitchen to put them with the rest of the food.

They agree to start with the first Lord of the Rings movie (Extended Edition, obviously) to enjoy the big screen and surround sound. And, as Lydia and Erica noted, Legolas and Aragorn provide sufficient eye candy. Stiles can’t help but agree.

At quarter to 10pm, Scott stands up and grabs Kira’s hand. “Hey Stiles, this has been so much fun, we totally need to do this again. Kira and I have to head out, but thanks again for having us!” Kira is nodding and smiling in agreement.

Interesting, Stiles thinks. These two were supposed to be “on duty” last night according to Stiles’ schedule, but maybe with whatever the big group was up to shifted the schedule off by one day. “Where are you two headed?”

Scott answers absently, “Oh, it’s just our night to run.” Then Kira whacks him on the arm and gives him a look that says, “WTF SCOTT?”

“Your night to run? What does that mean?”

“Oh, nothing, no big deal. We just have to go. See you on Monday, thanks again for hosting!” And just wow, Scott is a _terrible_ liar. Then he sees Lydia rolling her eyes as if she can’t believe she’s friends with these people. No one says anything else about it and they get back to the Fellowship of the Ring.

****************

Not surprisingly, no one mentions the running or full moon activities when he sees them at school on Monday. He had an awesome time for most of the movie night, he just wishes he didn’t have these feelings like he’s not good enough to be included in their other plans. It’s hard to shake feeling inadequate and unworthy, especially since that was pretty much the message from most of the people he knew at his old school.

Regardless, he and Scott have plans to head to Scott’s house after school to work on Stats (and possibly the other classes Scott is struggling with). Stiles really likes his Mom Melissa – she always brings them milk and cookies and seems happy that Scott has a responsible study buddy.

They walk out of school and head to the parking lot when Stiles is stunned momentarily speechless. Holy. Fuck. There is a James Dean-esque model leaning against a black muscle car, OMG it’s the black Camaro. He’s clad in tight dark jeans and a black leather jacket. Even with all the clothes, Stiles can sense lots of delicious, amazing muscles under the bad boy attire. And he’s pretty sure the face matches the rest of him, especially all that dark stubble over his chin and cheeks.

Stiles reaches out and grabs Scott. “Holy shit, dude. Who the hell is that?!”

Scott looks at Stiles with a slightly horrified expression and twitches his nose. “Oh, right. That’s Derek. Shit, I forgot. He’s here to pick me up for something, we’re going to have to reschedule studying.”

Stiles whispers, or whimpers, can you whimper and whisper at the same time? Shit. “You KNOW him? Fuck, I didn’t think people that hot actually existed in real life! Is he a relative or something?”

Scott winces like Stiles was shouting, he looks super uncomfortable, and his cheeks flush a bit. “No, he’s more like a big brother, I guess? Sometimes we hang out, um…” Scott looks like he’s struggling to find words, then suddenly he looks up at Derek who is now staring angrily at them both. “Shit, Stiles I have to run. See you later!” Scott does as he says and runs toward Derek who continues to glare at Stiles until Scott is in the passenger seat. Then Derek whips his hot bod into the car and peels out of the parking lot. Stiles feels like Derek is staring at him as they drive away, but that was probably just wishful thinking.

Jesus, it’s like they’re all part of a hot person cult.

Hmm. That might actually be worth actual consideration. Is Derek the ‘him’ everyone keeps referring to? Shit, how dare they keep someone so hot out of his radar! He thought they were his friends! But Derek definitely looked older, definitely not a high school student. What the hell is he doing hanging out with high schoolers? And I mean, it does seem like all his friends are really concerned with doing whatever the mysterious “him” says to do. Is it really Derek? The whole thing seems super weird.

Since he doesn’t have to tutor Scott today, he goes home and starts doing research on cults. From what he can find, most have a charismatic male leader who is able to take advantage of vulnerable people. Now, Derek is hot like lava, but he doesn’t know if he is charismatic in the way of David Koresh, Jim Jones, or Charles Manson. He’d really like to know the guy’s last name; it would help him dig up more info about whether this cult hypothesis holds water. At first glance, Derek looked more angry than crazy, but if he has to get near the guy some more in the name of research, so be it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay my dears. First, thanks so much for the positive response so far! Your comments make me so happy and have kept me spending much more time on this than I planned. I have this and one more chapter to upload this weekend before this little burst of chapters is done. Warning, we are entering the angst portion of the story. I hate doing it, but it is necessary and won't last *too* long, I promise. I'll update tags as necessary, but if you think I should add any just say so.

Stiles wanders into his bedroom after brushing his teeth, exhausted and ready to sleep. Why can’t it be the weekend yet? It’s still pretty warm for early October and the breeze coming in from his open window feels delicious against his skin, which must be how he is able to hear something “large sounding”, if that is even possible, moving around in the woods. Hell, not this again. At least his dad is home tonight. Stiles creeps over to the window and briefly spots those red orbs again. Okay, he is pretty sure he’s not experiencing visual and auditory hallucinations. What the hell is out there? It must be some sort of predator, maybe a cougar, and the red eyes must be a weird reflection off of their large feline pupils. Well, he’s going to have a chat with his dad in the morning about being careful, because there is clearly a large animal who considers the woods outside their house part of its territory.

The next morning Stiles is more tired than usual after having nightmares all night about being chased by large, angry cats. The day only gets worse from there. There are whispers all morning that a student has been reported missing, and midway through second period he and Scott catch the news that a freshman was found dead last night near a running trail in the Preserve. When Scott finds a picture of her on Instagram and shows Stiles, he instantly feels worse because this is the girl who kept getting the extra pudding cups at lunch. Fuck, she was so young.

He’ll check this info with his Dad later, but the story going around is that she was on the cross-country team and never came home from a training run last night when her parents reported her missing. Everyone at school is either crying or extremely quiet for the rest of the day. All the teachers tell the students they can visit the guidance counselors if they are struggling with grief or anxiety. Scott and Stiles were going to study that day after school since Stiles wasn’t working at the bookstore, but Scott tells him that something came up and they’ll have to reschedule. They exchange a bro-hug and Stiles heads home. His dad more or less confirms what he already knew.

“Dad, do you think the animal I keep seeing and hearing in our back yard is somehow related to this? I know you said there were signs of human involvement, but I think you need to make sure it’s not an animal. I’m telling you, this thing is definitely big.” His Dad gives him a tired smile. “I’ll make a report, son. We’ll look into it; you know we follow all leads.”

“Bud Dad, I don’t want you wandering around the Preserve. You need to find people trained to deal with large predators.”

His dad makes a noise like he’s almost trying not to laugh, which makes _zero_ sense. “Don’t worry Stiles, we have really good people to consult with. I promise to stay safe.” His Dad pulls him in for a big hug and lets out a shaky breath against the side of Stiles’ temple. He can only imagine how difficult it is to see a dead body, but especially as a father of someone close in age to the victim. He hugs his Dad back as tightly as he can.

*********

The next day at lunch, Lydia makes a point to sit next to him which is all sorts of weird. Out of a sense of self-preservation, his balls start crawling into his body and he quickly looks around for signs that Jackson is lurking nearby.

“Stiles, I have something for you.” Curious, as always, he looks over and she is holding what looks to be some sort of bracelet. It’s made of rope and has beads with weird markings. “You should keep it on, it’s good luck. You don’t need to take it off to shower or anything.” Stiles is a little bemused, but because it’s Lydia and it’s not doing any harm, he just goes along with her.

When she ties it around his left wrist, he swears he feels it heat up against his skin. She must have felt something as well because her eyes got big and she looks at Stiles with a surprised expression, but quickly shuts it down. Weirdly, he feels more settled with it on. Throughout the day he rubs the beads and finds he has no desire to remove it.

That night while working on homework, Stiles has better focus than any time in recent memory. It’s like his ADHD has subsided. He doesn’t understand it, especially since evenings are always hard for him, but at least this will give him a chance to get to bed earlier than usual. Or, let’s be honest, have time to play CoD tonight.

************

Stiles is sitting behind the counter at Literatum, catching up on his assignment for English Lit, when he hears the bell attached to the front door ring. It’s the middle of October and exams are starting soon, so he’s focused on his assignment when he senses the customer is standing very close to him.

He looks up and sees a good looking, but sort of creepy guy smiling at him. “So, you must be the Stiles I keep hearing about. Scott’s new bestie.” He leers at Stiles, reaches his hand over and runs a finger over his bracelet.

“Um, yeah. And who are you?”

The guy leans in even closer, crowding into Stiles space. “I’m Peter, have the pack not mentioned me?”

The pack? Is that the name of the cult? Stiles backs up as best he can. Sure, this guy is a looker, but his instincts are screaming that he’s _not_ safe. “Um, no, I guess not. The pack?”

“My god, you are just adorable, aren’t you? I can see why they want to keep you. And that bracelet, it really has taken to you. Interesting. Very, very interesting.” Peter reaches over and trails a finger down Stiles’ neck and Stiles is frozen like a terrified deer in headlights.

While in the midst of his panic-induced paralysis, he distantly hears the bell at the door ring again. A large hand grabs creepy Peter’s shoulder and yanks him away from Stiles. “Peter, get out of here. Now.”

Peter chuckles, hands in the air with a look of faux contrition on his face, “Fine, fine nephew. Just having a little fun, wanted to meet the one who has your panties in a twist. No need to go all Alpha on me.”

Stiles is confused, is pretty freaked out by the whole incident, and now is starting to get turned on because he’s standing very close to the elusive Derek, closer than ever before, and the dude is hot like a habanero. Here’s his chance to see if he might actually be a crazy cult leader. But fuck, what a waste of such beauty if that is what’s going on.

They watch Peter saunter out of the store and Stiles turns his attention to Derek. “So, Derek, right? Thanks, your um, uncle is it? Well, he’s a little scary, not going to lie. I’d hate for my first sexual experience with another person to be with someone with that level of creepiness.” Jesus Christ, Stiles, what are you saying?!

Derek gives him a withering look. “You should stay away from us, especially Peter.”

Stiles feels an unreasonable welling of sadness. He should be pleased Derek wants nothing to do with him, since he is semi-convinced the guy is taking advantage of high schoolers. “I didn’t approach him, dude, it was the other way around. You both came into the bookstore, I just work here.”

Derek rolls his eyes, “Don’t call me dude. I mean you should get some new friends at school. You don’t belong with us, so leave us alone.”

The hurt and confusion must have been obvious on his face, because for a brief second Stiles was convinced that Derek’s eyes went soft with something akin to sadness or remorse, but then his angry glare was back so fast it might have never happened.

“Fuck you, dude. You can’t control who I am friends with.”

Derek makes a tired sounding sigh, “You have no idea how wrong you are about that.” Then he leaves the store.

Stiles wonders what the hell just happened. He could totally see freaky Peter as a cult leader, the guy oozes confidence and weirdness. But he deferred to Derek, so Peter can’t be the leader, right? Maybe Derek really does put them under a spell with his hotness. Either way, this is a perfect conversation opening to bring his friends. They can’t refuse to tell him what is going on now.

**********

The next morning Stiles is a little surprised that he didn’t get his normal bear hug from Scott in the parking lot. He’s trying to keep his anxiety at bay, because all night he’s been worrying that his friends are going to listen to Derek. He didn’t get any texts from them, which was a little weird but not unheard of. And he knows that they genuinely like him, he’s not that oblivious.

He walks into second period Stats class and smiles at Scott as he sits at their table, relieved to see his friend. Scott gives him a look like a kicked puppy and watches him take a deep breath.

“Hey Stiles. So listen, I wanted to let you know that I actually have a new tutor now, it’s a professional, you know? My mom thinks it will be better to get help from someone trained in education. So, I’m not going to need any more help after school. Thanks for getting me this far.”

Stiles tries to keep his panic at bay. “Oh, okay. Well that’s sucks but I get it. No worries. We can still hang and play Call of Duty when you are done with your tutoring, right?”

Scott looks down at the desk, clearly avoiding eye contact. “Yeah, sure.”

Stiles feels like that was a polite way of saying no. The rest of the class is awkward, and Scott leaves quickly when the bell rings.

At lunch, Stiles walks up to their table and notices that everyone is sitting a little farther apart than usual, making it so that there is no space for him to sit. Stiles heart sinks. He’s seen this movie before. And playing the mean girl role to perfection, it’s Lydia who lays it out for him. “Stiles, the table’s full. You’ll have to find somewhere else to sit.”

Stiles sort of knew this was going to happen after his interaction with Scott in Stats class, but he’s still absurdly hurt and surprised. Isaac looks like he’s trying to crawl into himself and Scott is staring at the table. No one will make eye contact with him. Part of Stiles wants to cry, but he doesn’t want them to know exactly how shitty they are making him feel. He wanders to a table that is only half full and sits with his back to them so he doesn’t have to see their cruel faces. For almost two months he had something he always longed for, and for reasons he can’t fathom it’s all gone.

How could they actually do this to him? What teenagers actually listen to some adult and follow his orders? Sure, they may all be part of some weird cult, but they liked him and let him in.

He’s able to keep it together until he gets home, where he proceeds to sob into his pillow. He screams into it to try to get his anger out. He didn’t do anything wrong, why the hell did this happen? He never pressed them on the secrets they are obviously keeping. What sort of freaky hold does Derek have over them? There is no question now, ‘him’ is definitely Derek.

He hears a sad sounding howl in the woods, and it just makes him cry harder.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the last of my small cluster of chapter uploads this weekend. Stiles is not going to make it easy on the pack. Thanks again for all of your wonderful and outraged comments, they really motivate me. I've got a start on the next two chapters, but it will be a few days at least before I have enough drafted and edited to post more. There's more angst in this chapter, but I hope the warm and fuzzy Stilinski feels make up for it a bit. We're on the verge of a turning point in the plot. Thanks again for reading this work!

School sucks now and Stiles isolates himself. When he and Scott are in class together, they only talk if it’s necessary, and they never make eye contact anymore. He no longer sits near Lydia or any of his other ‘friends’ in his other classes. And he has zero interest in approaching new people. He vows to get through the year and get out of this shitty town. Occasionally he sees one of his former friends looking at him at lunch or from down the hall, but they always look away like it never happened.

Two weeks after enduring his social exile, in a moment of self-pity and self-righteousness, he walks to the table during lunch and stands next to Lydia. He rips the bracelet off his left wrist and drops it next to her tray. Something in him hurts to let go of it but he doesn’t want it anymore. It has turned into a physical reminder of what they took away from him. She just looks at him blankly, not giving anything away.

Scott speaks up. “Stiles, you need to keep it, please keep wearing it.”

He can actually feel anger run through his body like electricity. “Fuck all of you and your cryptic, culty shit. I don’t know what I did or what that asshole said to make you treat me this way, but I’m done.”

Lydia just shakes her head at Scott who looks like he wants to say something more. Stiles stalks off, sad because he doesn’t feel any better. He barely noticed how the florescent lights mounted to the cafeteria ceiling sparked as he ranted at his former friends.

**************

With nothing to occupy his time when he’s not working after school, Stiles starts preparing and delivering dinner to his Dad at the Sheriff’s station. Stiles is a stickler when it comes to his Dad’s diet and wants to minimize the opportunities for fast food consumption. Given the occasional McDonald’s bag he’s found stuffed under the seat of his Dad’s police cruiser, he knows that the man will sneak in the shit food if he has a chance.

One Thursday night he wanders into the Sheriff’s station with two servings of vegetable lasagna. He’s familiar enough now that he recognizes Mike at reception, who waves him in. His Dad’s office door is closed so he waits on an unoccupied chair for the meeting to end.

After about 10 minutes, the door opens and Stiles stands up with the food. Deputy Jordan Parish, local hottie of the Sheriff’s station, walks out and smiles at Stiles. He smiles back but then stops approaching the office when he sees who else is in there with his Dad.

It’s Derek, shaking hands with the Sheriff. WTF. Derek says something else to the Sheriff then turns to walk out the door. He stops briefly, locks eyes with Stiles and appears to take in a long breath through his nose. Then he exits the office and the station without a word. Stiles snaps out of his trance and notices that Deputy Parish is looking at him strangely, a slight frown on his face.

“Stiles? What are you up to son, bring me some more rabbit food for dinner?” The Sheriff smiles at him, which snaps him out of his shock as he enters the office and closes the door. “Dad, what was Derek doing here?”

The Sheriff looks a little concerned, “How do you know Derek Hale?”

Derek Hale, now he has his last name. “I don’t really know him, but I do know he’s a controlling asshole who convinced my friends at school to ignore me.”

John stares at Stiles with a complicated and somewhat shocked look on his face. “Your friends? Do you mean Scott? Is that why he hasn’t been over in a while?”

“Yeah, Scott said Derek is like a big brother figure or something. All of that group know him. Then one day his super creepy uncle Peter got weird with me at the bookstore, Derek showed up and made him leave, then he told me that I wasn’t allowed to hang out with my friends anymore, because apparently _he_ can make them do whatever the hell he wants.”

The Sheriff sighs, “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize. I know you were getting pretty close with Scott, he seems like a good kid.”

Stiles sighs, not wanting to get emotional again. “Are you investigating Derek for something? To be honest, it’s weird that he’s hanging out with kids in high school. I’ve been doing some research and am a little worried that it’s some sort of cult. This one student, Isaac, he really seems like he’s been abused, he’s so skittish and, I don’t know, it just seems like something is really off with him.”

The Sheriff closes his eyes, pinches his nose. He sighs the sigh of a parent who has spent many years trying to control and protect a kid who sees and feels too much. He opens his eyes and looks at Stiles, “Son, Isaac was abused by his father, but Derek adopted him to get him out of that house. Isaac is perfectly safe now. And I know it’s hard to understand, but I feel like maybe they is more going on that you don’t understand. There’s nothing I can tell you to help you understand, but Derek is not a bad person.”

“But Dad, if he is leading some sort of freaky cult, maybe adopting Isaac was his way to get in with all his friends?! And they also do other weird shit.”

“Language.”

Pretending he didn’t hear that, Stiles continues on. “They definitely spend time at the Preserve, even though I’ve told them that people keep getting killed in the woods. They hang out on the full moon like weirdo werewolf wannabees,” The sheriff chokes on his lasagna, “And they must have some sort of rotating system where pairs of them do something late at night and come in exhausted to school the next day.”

After he’s stopped choking, the Sheriff gives Stiles a look that is somewhere between terrified and awed. “Son, you have got to let this go, you’re starting to make connections between things that make no sense.”

Stiles throws his hands in the air. “Well, what was he doing here? Are you investigating him for something?”

“Stiles, you know I can’t tell you anything like that, but no we are not investigating him for anything. Son, you need to let this go.”

No longer hungry and feeling betrayed by his own Father, Stiles gets up. “Thanks, Dad. Glad to know that you can be so understanding. I’m not hungry, I’m going to head home.”

“Stiles! Wait, please don’t take any of this personally.”

Stiles spins around, no longer trying to hide how red and watery his eyes must look. “I finally had a group of friends, Dad, you know how big that was for me. And Derek made it all go away for absolutely no reason. He said I don’t belong with them. What, am I too ugly? Too annoying? How the hell am I _not_ supposed to take that personally?” Stiles walks out of the office, doesn’t even spare a glance at the handsome Deputy Parish because he’s a little too heart broken, and honestly next to Derek there really isn’t any point.

Stiles gets home and the bracelet is sitting on his nightstand. He’s fucking disturbed that someone snuck into his room, and is also really confused. While there is some weird part of him that yearns to put it back on, he refuses and throws it in a drawer and tries to forget about it.

************

One week later Stiles is driving home from a shift at Literatum and realizes he’s following a black Camaro remarkably similar to Derek’s. He’s still so pissed and finds himself fixating on that stupid, sexy car and its stupid, sexy driver, wishing over and over that the stupid car would break or something. Suddenly, the Camaro swerves to the right to pull to the side of the road and Stiles can see that the rear driver’s side tire has blown out. He snickers as he passes Derek thinking that karma is a good bitch.

************

Stiles gets home from school the day before Thanksgiving and is grateful for a long stretch of time when he doesn’t have to be reminded of his status as a social pariah. He and his Dad hadn’t discussed Thanksgiving dinner, so he’s a little surprised to see the Sheriff setting a few store bought pies and some cranberry sauce on the counter.

“Dad! Oh my god, are we supposed to be cooking dinner tomorrow? I didn’t order a turkey! Do we even have time to pick up everything we need from the store? I just assumed we were going out to the diner this year. Oh my god, there’s so much to do.”

“Stiles, stop. Stop panicking. I signed us up to bring pie and cranberry sauce, so we’re fine, nothing else to buy or prepare.”

Stiles squints his eyes at his father. He is being intentionally cagey. This can’t be good. “Signed us up? And where exactly are we bringing the pie and sauce?”

Stiles knows that stance, his Dad is doing his best to look like a fair yet authoritative figure. Honestly, he’s really good at the look, it comes naturally to him.

The Sheriff smiles. “We’ve been invited to spend Thanksgiving with the McCalls. Melissa has the rest of the meal taken care of and only asked that we bring dessert and the cranberry sauce.”

What. The. Fuck. “I’m sorry, I think I just hallucinated. It sounded like you said we are going to the McCalls’ for Thanksgiving. I know I misheard you because, as I have explained to you in excruciating detail, Scott and the rest of my so-called friends have been literally ignoring my existence for the last month. There is no way that you, my father and only remaining family, would ever consider subjugating me to more of that when I get enough of it at school.”

His Dad sighs and looks disappointed. What the hell? “Stiles, I know you’re hurt. I appreciate it and know that I can’t fully understand how hard it’s been for you. But, you are also an adult, at least legally, and I expect you to be cordial and polite.”

“Dad, why? Why on earth did you think this was a good idea? How did this even happen? I mean, I know Melissa is awesome and fully support you trying to get on that, but why drag me into it?”

“Stiles! That’s enough, you can be angry with me, but you will not be disrespectful to Ms. McCall.”

Stiles flushes, feeling licks of shame turn his face red. “Sorry.”

The Sheriff sighs while he walks over to put his arm around Stiles’ shoulders. “Son, I ran into Melissa at the hospital the other day while I was getting a witness statement. We ended up chatting about our mule-headed sons, which somehow ended up in us being invited to dinner. She said she misses having a big group to cook for, and I know you can’t honestly tell me that you don’t miss having a traditional, home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner. Don’t you?”

Stiles is instantly rocked with wonderful, painful memories of cooking all day with his mother, making stuffing from scratch, checking and basting the turkey all morning, getting flour all over each other as they rolled the pie dough. Against his will he sucks in a shuddering breath and feels his Dad wrap him in his arms. He buries his face in the warmth and comfort of his dad’s shoulder, holding on tight like he might just float away otherwise. “I miss her too, Stiles. I miss her, too.”

Stiles was not prepared for all these emotions on top of his baseline level of tension and anxiety from school. Fuck, he can’t deny his Dad this comfort. He squeezes his Dad back then lets him go.

Stiles grumbles and rubs the wetness from his eyelashes. “Shit.”

“Language.” His Dad smirks.

“Well, did you get heavy cream? And both types of cranberry sauce, the jelly and the loose sauce? Dammit, I’ve got to go to the store and hope they aren’t out of heavy cream. We’re definitely not defiling the pumpkin pie with fake whipped cream. And I need the jelly sauce for my turkey sandwiches, we need both types.”

Stiles pretends not to see his Dad smiling at him as he grumbles his way out of the house to his Jeep.

***********

As the Stilinski men park at the McCall house, Stiles finds himself wondering more about why they are here. Stiles always liked Melissa, and he is genuinely curious if his Dad feels the same way. Might this be more than just seeking the comfort of tradition? He’s sure that both parents are probably hoping their sons will make up, but maybe the Sheriff has just a tiny ulterior motive?

Stiles does his best to be polite, particularly to his Dad and Melissa. He also can’t help but give Scott the cold shoulder, but he tries not to be an asshole about it. It’s not that much different from when they sit and work together in Stats class. When everyone has officially had too much to eat, John and Melissa make the boys start on the dishes.

Scott clears his throat before speaking. “So, how are you?” Stiles just looks at Scott and doesn’t respond. Scott sighs and goes back to the dishes while Stiles dries.

Five more minutes pass by. “Stiles, I’m sorry. We’re all sorry. None of us want this, but we don’t really have a choice.” Scott sounds so sad and Stiles feels his eyes start to burn. He redirects with anger instead.

“That’s bullshit, Scott. We all have choices. Can you give me a reason for why I’m a social pariah? Did my verbal diarrhea become too much? Did my awkward flailing become offensive? Am I just not attractive enough for all you beautiful people? What was it, Scott, can you give me one good reason? Because I sure as hell have tried to understand and have come up with absolutely nothing.”

Scott looks at Stiles and makes a face of deep frustration. He looks back down at the dirty dishes in the sink and shakes his head.

“Well, that’s just fucking great. You know what, I’m done helping you with the dishes. I’m out of here. Thanks for such a memorable fucking Thanksgiving.” Stiles storms out of the kitchen, grabs his coat off the rack and walks through the front door.

“Stiles, where are you going?” His Dad shouts after him. Stiles just slams the door closed and begins the walk home. They haven’t had pie yet, so he knows his Dad will stay to be polite to Melissa. Good, he needs the long walk home to cool off.

He doesn’t make it home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah. A cliffhanger. Please don't hate me.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to wait another day to upload Chapter 5, but today is my beloved grandmother's 93rd birthday and I was feeling celebratory. So, thanks Betty, and happy birthday!

Stiles wakes up feeling groggy and nauseated. He opens his eyes then closes them immediately, the dim light above his head was enough to make it pound. When he adjusts and can keep his eyes open, he realizes that he’s tied to a chair with a rope around his chest and arms, and his hands secured together behind the back of the chair. His feet are tied to each chair leg. He notices that his limbs feel a little numb, probably from the ropes and how supremely uncomfortable he is not being able to move. Aside from the numbness, his whole body feels heavy, like his eyelids have weights pulling them down. He must be drugged. What the hell is going on? There is no one else is in the room, which looks like a dark, damp cellar. The floor is packed dirt, the walls look like stone and are a drab dirty grey color. He feels damp and cold. The only other thing he can see is a door across from where he is seated. It’s closed but he can’t tell whether it is locked, but assumes it is.

How did he get here? The last thing he remembers is walking toward home after getting in a one-way fight with Scott after Thanksgiving dinner. Fuck, he’s still totally pissed off at Scott and everyone else for being such assholes. He’s going to totally blame his current situation on them, too. It may be irrational, but if he wasn’t so hurt and angry with them, he never would have stormed off into the night by himself.

Okay, right, time to focus on the immediate situation rather than his ongoing angst-riddled social problems. He absently rubs a finger against his left wrist because the rope securing his hands together makes him miss his bracelet.

So, I’ve been kidnapped. Right. So that is a thing that is happening. Who the hell actually gets kidnapped? Who would kidnap me?

Oh shit! Stiles begins to panic as his overly imaginative brain visualizes the mutilated bodies found across the county that his Dad has been investigating.

Okay, keep breathing. He’s not in the woods, he is clearly in some sort of structure. This is probably, hopefully not the same person, the same murderer. He stifles a crazed laugh because he feels a little relieved that he probably wasn’t kidnapped by the local serial killer. What the hell is his life, seriously?

After an indeterminate amount of time, the door creaks open and an older man walks in, loaded up with weapons like he’s Rambo’s grandfather. Stiles is a little confused.

“Dude, I’m flattered that I come across as threatening enough to require an arsenal reminiscent of a bad Stallone movie.” Don’t judge him. His captor has weapons. Stiles has words and wit.

“Well, well. Stiles is it? I’m glad to see you are awake. The tranquilizer I used wasn’t dosed for humans, but with the unexpected opportunity to grab you I couldn’t resist. Glad I didn’t kill you, kid.”

Jesus that’s chilling. “Who the hell are you? Why am I here?”

“You’re the Sheriff’s son. That makes you exceedingly useful.”

“Right. And is part of your bad guy monologuing going to fill me in on who you are?”

“You have no _idea_ who the bad guys are!” Oh shit, Grey Rambo is just a smidge shy of foaming at the mouth. “At least I’m human!”

Did he say human? What in the actual fuck?

“I used to protect Beacon Hills. My family kept this land safe for generations. My daughter alone took out almost all of the monsters years ago. We used to have a close and collaborative relationship with local law enforcement, but since I’ve been back it has become clear to me that your Dad is doing a terrible job and those things continue to thrive here. I waited a bit to see how the new Sheriff would adjust, whether he would do the right thing. But clearly he needs some motivation.”

“Listen asshole, it was pretty obvious to me as soon as you walked in here that you are shy of a few critical marbles, and I generally subscribe to the belief that we should respect our elders as well as be gentle with those who aren’t all there ‘mentally’. But if you’re going to disparage my Father, you can go fuck yourself.”

“Your precious father is letting monsters maul innocent humans, so you tell me how that qualifies him to protect this county. I even hear that he’s in league with them. You, my poor boy, will be used to convince your father to either change his approach to policing this town, or get the hell out.”

Stiles is nothing else if not a little shit who doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut. He snorts out a laugh, “You definitely don’t know my father. There is no way he is going to do anything you say.”

“He will if his only child’s life is on the line.”

“Don’t you dare threaten him, I swear to god! He’s a good man, and you will leave him alone!”

“A good man who embraces evil. You are very wrong about him, I’m afraid. Don’t worry, we’re about to send him a message with instructions on how to get here and you’ll see exactly what kind of man he is. How much he values your life. Or doesn’t. By the way, don’t hold in the scream, this will be more effective if you let it out.” Then the asshole takes a long sharp knife, the kind Crocodile Dundee would be proud of, and drags it across the top of Stiles’ arm, deeper than any cut he’s ever had. Stiles can’t hold back his scream of pain, which he realizes is being captured on video with the phone held in the guy’s other hand. This video is obviously going to be used to draw out his dad.

It briefly occurs to Stiles that he was right, this is not what or whoever has been killing people in the woods. Soooo, win?

It doesn’t matter. Stiles is terrified. He both wants his Dad to be here and also to never show up. He never imagined that being the son of the local sheriff would get him into this kind of trouble. It’s not as if his Dad is taking down drug cartels. Sure, Stiles is used to being excluded from parties because kids always assumed he was a narc, but that was the worst of being a cop’s kid. He definitely did not anticipate kidnapping. But really, how many people actually anticipate kidnapping? Maybe super rich people? Dammit, his Adderall has definitely run out and the last thing he needs is withdrawal symptoms and a scattered brain on top of everything else.

Stiles has never been particularly religious, but he starts to silently pray. To what or who, he has no idea, but he keeps repeating one phrase, “Please get me out of here.” Over and over, eyes closed, he repeats his mantra. The geriatric nutcase is doing something on his phone, probably messaging his Dad, but Stiles stopped paying attention. He vaguely hears the old guy talk about how his Dad is following the instructions so far, how he should be there unarmed in 15 minutes or so, but Stiles just pushes his voice away and keeps up with his mantra.

Only a few minutes have passed when the light overhead go out and his kidnapper shouts in surprise.

Stiles can’t decide whether to be terrified or hopeful, since it’s obvious that this is not part of the old man’s plans. His body makes the decision for him and chooses abject terror. He is not going to judge himself. He’s been kidnapped by a madman; he is pretty sure that he won’t lose his tiny smidgen of cool cred for being terrified.

Even though it’s basically pitch black in the room, Stiles looks around frantically. He thinks he hears the door creak open and then he sees an eerily familiar set of red eyes, the only light in the dark room. His breath catches against his will, and the red orbs close. Oh fuck, is this the thing killing all the people? Did this shitstorm just get even worse?

Then there is an honest to god roar, something you’d expect to hear on safari in Africa, and Stiles is impressed he didn’t shit his pants. The man, whoever he is, screams from somewhere and starts shooting one of his guns, in the dark. What an idiot.

Wait a second, Stiles notices that his hands are free, the ropes somehow fell off, and the rope around his chest is lose too, no longer tied. Not about to question a good thing, he creeps off the chair. He’s woozy, but he drops to the ground to avoid stray bullets.

“I know it’s you Hale! I don’t know how you got here so fast but I know it’s you. Saw your evil red eyes. Come and get me, I can’t wait to shoot you up full of wolfsbane and send you to meet the rest of those monsters you called family.”

Stiles can’t see the red eyes any longer, where did they go? Did he say Hale?

Without warning there’s a crash from the other side of the room and a horrible scream turned gurgling noise. A gun goes off again, releasing many rounds, and Stiles feels a sudden excruciating pain in his thigh. He screams and barely notices that the gun has stopped firing.

Stiles hears panting but his eyes are screwed closed in pain as he tries to hold his hand on his leg to stop the bleeding. His fingers are warm and slippery and he’s momentarily grateful for the dark because seeing an actual gunshot wound in his leg is not on his to-do list.

Suddenly someone is grabbing at him and he screams, thrashes in an attempt to get away. “Stiles, Stiles stop. I’ve got to get you to a hospital. You’ve been shot and may be poisoned.”

Stiles thinks he’s going into shock. That sounded like a familiar voice. “Derek? Is that you? What the hell is going on?”

“Just keep pressure on your leg, I’ll get you to the hospital. You’re going to be fine.” Derek has him in a bridal carry and somehow runs up the stairs of the building where Stiles has been held captive. How is he that strong? It’s not like Stiles is huge, but he’s not light either. Damn, these must be some good drugs because the pain in his leg and arm is not so bad at the moment. Could be the blood loss. Shit. Suddenly he’s not feeling great, and no way is he going to puke on Derek, imagining the indignity is enough to push away his nausea. Then again, Derek sorta deserves to be puked on, brave rescue or not.

Once they get outside Stiles can see again. When did his head fall down to rest on Derek’s shoulder? That’s no good. He looks up and sees that Derek is grim faced as he continues to run like Stiles weighs nothing more than a child.

Oh look, the Camaro! Stiles is getting a ride in the sexy beast, he never expected that would ever happen, not to such a lowlife as him. He snickers, poor Derek stuck dealing with stupid Stiles. Serves him right, asshole. Now who is the stupid one? Wait, does that even make sense. Man, his head is woozy.

Derek manages to open the passenger door and gently sets Stiles on the passenger seat. He reclines the seat back as far as he can to get Stiles to lie relatively flat. Then he rips off his leather jacket, rolls it up and props it under Stiles’ bleeding thigh to elevate it. “Fuck dude, that hurts like hell.”

Next off is Derek’s white t-shirt, which he uses to tie around the wound to try to hold the bleeding to a minimum.

Now… Stiles has lost a bit of blood and apparently has a cocktail of drugs running through his system. These are his only excuses for what happens next.

“Fuuuuuck dude, you are so ripped. Holy shit, how are you real?” Stiles takes one of his hands and starts to pet Derek’s abs. As soon as his long fingers start tracing the dips and curves of Derek’s stomach, the muscles tense. Damn, he really wants to lick those Abs. And yes, they deserve to be capitalized, they are Abs, not abs. Did he say that out loud? He hopes not. Maybe.

Derek shoves his arm away, buckles him in as best he can, then slams the door. The drive to the hospital is a little blurry, but Stiles remembers Derek shouting on a cell phone. He also remembers shocking pain, plus a dull throbbing like his entire leg pulses as blood slowly seeps out.

Derek grabs his arm and his body fills with warmth as the pain starts to fade again. Wow, this is either really awesome or a sign he is dying. Avoid the light, Stiles, stay out of tunnels.

“Stiles, listen to me. I want you to do something. I want you to repeat, either out loud or in your head, ‘I am not poisoned. I am not poisoned.’ Can you do that? Say it out loud for me, okay?”

With no reason not to, Stiles does as he’s told. He says it out loud the whole rest of the drive, and when he gets too exhausted, he repeats it in his head. He doesn’t remember leaving the car or anything after that, but he’s pretty sure he keeps saying ‘I am not poisoned’. Over and over.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a beast, about twice as long as all the others so far. I just couldn't find a place to split it up that made sense and left two new chapters of reasonable length. So, here we are. Also, I've read it over so many times but I'm sure there are errors. Sorry for that ahead of time. Otherwise, I LOVE this chapter and the content it covers. Stiles is a little shit in this one, but also really empathetic, and it gives me life. I hope you all enjoy it!

Stiles wakes up to a beeping sound. He slowly opens his eyes and is confused because he doesn’t recognize the room. Why does this keep happening? He must make some sort of sound, because he feels a familiar hand grasping one of his own. “Stiles? Hey bud, glad to see you waking up.”

“Dad? What happened? Where am I?”

His Dad squeezes his hand and sighs. “You were kidnapped, son. Do you remember any of it? He must have grabbed you while you were walking home from Thanksgiving dinner.”

The memories come flooding back like a crashing wave. Stiles gasps and instinctively tries to sit-up, but pain radiating up from his leg stops him, as well as the IV he notices in his arm. His other arm has a long bandage on it.

“Dad, I remember! It was some strange guy, he wanted to use me as bait to blackmail you. He was going to send you a message or ransom or something to get you to come and get me, wanted to make us leave town or to get you to, um, I think he said not work with monsters.” Then Stiles pauses, because he remembers more. Red eyes. Roaring. Derek. His eyes get huge when he looks at his Dad. “What the hell is going on in this town? I remember red eyes in the dark and Derek being there. He, he carried me out of that cellar, drove me to the hospital.”

“Stiles, now is not the time or place, but when you are better and we are somewhere more private, Derek and I will explain what is going on. You need to know that you are safe now, the man who took you was killed and we are looking for any known accomplices. You had to have surgery on your leg, but the bullet didn’t hit the bone so you should recover without any lingering problems.”

“Dad, his eyes were red. I’ve seen those same eyes just beyond our back yard. Are you sure we’re safe?”

His Dad gives him a long look and answers him in a quiet voice. “Son, he saved your life. What do you think?”

It’s a lot to take in, and Stiles really isn’t ready to hear it all now, so he’s okay waiting. For now. But his dad is right, Derek saved his life. It just makes no sense since he knows that Derek hates him.

“You also have some guests who have been waiting to see you. Scott, in particular, won’t leave.”

Stiles closes his eyes, torn over whether he wants to see him. “Dad, they have been _so_ mean to me, literally made me a social outcast at school. I don’t understand why they are even here.”

“Stiles I know, and it was so hard that they couldn’t explain anything to you. However, circumstances have changed, and soon you’ll understand everything that’s been going on. All of this was to try to keep you all safe, but the cat is basically out of the bag now so there’s no harm in them seeing you.”

“Dad, that made zero sense. And let me add that I’m not an idiot. You clearly know what is going on and I’m pretty sure you’ve known for a while. How could you keep secrets from me about my so-called friends? Why are you on their side?” There may be some water leaking out of his eyes but he pretends it’s not happening. Being betrayed by your new friends is one thing, but now he feels like his Dad has been lying to him, too.

John squeezes his hand. “Stiles, I. Shit.”

“Language.”

The look he gets from his Dad is almost enough to make him crack a smile. “I’m sorry, son. You’re right. I can only explain so much here, and part of the issue is that it’s not my secret to tell. I was so happy when you made friends quickly, and I really liked Scott when he would come over. I just didn’t realize that your group of friends were the same ones affiliated with Derek. I was under the impression that his group doesn’t usually bring new people in, so it never occurred to me that you had become an unofficial member of the pack.”

“The pack. There’s that word again. This is just making me more confused. Are they dangerous or something?”

“It’s hard to explain. Sort of, yes, but they would never hurt you. Derek made the call for them to leave you alone and so they did, but it was genuinely for everyone’s safety, both yours and theirs.”

Stiles knows he’s making an incredulous face, because how could being friends with him put them in any danger. “I know you don’t believe me, and honestly I was starting to crack. Melissa and I knew how depressed you and Scott were at being forcibly separated, so we hoped that you two might make up over Thanksgiving.”

“Well, apparently the threat of breaking Derek’s order was enough to keep Scott in line.” Stiles spit out.

“Stiles, according to Scott he tried to talk to you, but you refused to listen to him. Now before you start arguing with me, you had every right. I’m not saying otherwise. But either way, I was already going to talk to Derek about bringing you in because I hated to see what this was doing to you. I’m used to keeping things about my work from you, but this was different and I really hated being less than honest with you.”

Stiles sighs. He can tell his Dad is telling the truth. “Fine. I can tell there is a lot more you aren’t telling me because I still don’t understand anything. But I’ll try to keep an open mind and wait until I’m out of the hospital. But please don’t drag this out, I really feel like I deserve some answers after all of this shit. And Ice cream. And probably some new games.”

“Stiles, shut up. Make your demands once we’re home. I’ll make sure there’s plenty of ice cream, and just for you I won’t even eat any of it.”

Stiles smiles smugly, he has his Dad pretty well-trained.

“So, you said Scott is here?”

“Yup, he’s been worried sick. I swear his girlfriend Kira was almost getting jealous.”

Stiles shakes his head and lets out a long breath. “Okay, tell Scott I’ll see him if he’s still here, but he better not expect too much from me.”

**************

Scott comes in and looks nervous but hopeful.

“I hear you’ve been given permission to talk to me. How generous.”

Scott looks bashful and doesn’t take the bait, “Yes, thank GOD! I hated not being able to talk to you, dude.”

“You know that at some point someone will have to explain why you all agreed to be such assholes to me. Right?”

“Of course! Dude, I hated every minute of it. We all did. I can’t wait for you to know everything, honestly!” Stiles looks at him, those brown puppy eyes looking completely remorseful.

“My Dad explained a bit to me, but to be honest I still fail to understand how us all being friends was a danger to anyone. It’s going to take me some time; you really hurt me.” Scott makes a whining noise that doesn’t sound all together human. “I’m trying to understand that it’s possible there may be a legitimate reason for what you did, but it’s going to take me some time.”

“Dude, I totally understand. I’m just so happy you even let me in here. I’ll do whatever I can to make it up to you. Everyone wants to make it up to you. Even Lydia owes you favors now, which is something that _never_ happens. You totally need to milk that.”

Stiles can’t help it, he laughs. Scott’s face lights up like Christmas, clearly elated to be on the path to forgiveness.

Sensing that Stiles’ stupidly loyal heart was starting to thaw, Scott can’t seem to help himself. “Dude.” He pauses dramatically and his eyes get huge. “You got shot. That is SO badass.” Stiles cracks up and gives his buddy a fist bump. He never expected that they would ever bond over bullet wounds.

A few minutes later Melissa wanders in to check on Stiles. “How are you feeling, sweetheart? We’re all so glad you are okay.”

She pats the side of his face in a way that can only be described as motherly, and Stiles has to hold his breath to prevent tears from falling, he misses his mom SO much in that moment. Melissa must notice his distress and, ever the smart woman, changes directions with a slightly evil smirk on her face. 

“It was definitely a shock when a half-naked Derek Hale came running inside the ER with you in his arms. That is a sight none of the hospital staff will ever forget. And those of us who don’t work in the Emergency Department have definitely enjoyed re-watching the security footage. That Derek Hale is something to behold!”

“EW, Mom! Stop, I’m getting so grossed out.” Scott’s face is turning an alarming shade of magenta as Melissa cackles.

Stiles thinks his heart has stopped. Oh no. No no no no no. “Oh my god, oh god, I just remembered something.” Stiles thinks he’s experiencing a flashback, and fuck, he is pretty sure it really happened. He groans and covers his face with his hands. “I may want you to actually put that bullet back in and kill me. I think I tried to pet Derek’s abs when he was getting me settled in the Camaro. And I may have narrated my impure thoughts as I pet them. Oh my god!”

Scott and Melissa are now in hysterics. This is just not fair.

*************

Stiles goes home two days later and is surprised to see the Camaro parked in his driveway. Oh god, he’s not sure if he’s ready to face Derek after trying to grope his insane muscles while suffering blood loss. He’s also still pissed at him and wonders whether there will actually be a valid reason for directing his minions to be so cruel.

Then again, he’s desperate to hear the full story, so he’ll try to focus on that, assuming that is why Derek is here.

Weirdly, Derek was inside their house when they arrived. Did his Dad give him a key or something? Is he having an aneurism, because what the hell? Then Derek is at the door to the car, carefully pulling Stiles out and helping the Sheriff shuffle Stiles inside and over to the couch.

And because that wasn’t enough weirdness, Derek has decided to play nurse and grabs pillows to prop up his leg. What the hell? Stiles is just not prepared for caring, nurse Derek. It’s confusing, arousing, and actually pissing him off. Aaaand why not, Derek decides to squeeze onto the couch at Stiles’ feet and which end up in his lap. His feet are on Derek’s lap.

Stiles watches in stunned confusion while Derek wraps his hand around Stiles’ bare ankle. What the fuck is even happening here. Did Derek forget that he hates Stiles? Is this some reverse Stockholm Syndrome?

Stiles starts to wonder what the hell happened to his Dad, who he sees is seated in their recliner, but gets distracted because his whole leg goes warm and he feels like he’s taken a hit of the best pain meds on the black market. He groans, probably inappropriately, but doesn’t even care. He looks at Derek and sees black lines streaking up his arm. “What the hell is going on? I can’t wait any longer, you guys have to tell me what is happening.”

The Sheriff is looking toward the couch with a funny look on his face as he watches the two of them.

“Well Stiles, you told me a few weeks ago that you thought Derek was leading a cult.”

At that Derek whipped his head toward Stiles in shock. “You thought I was a cult leader?”

Stiles will not be shamed. “I’m still not convinced you’re not. Well, either you or Peter. Peter made more sense, but since he deferred to you that one time in the bookstore I was a little unsure. I mean, what else could I think with all the weird shit going on. You, hanging with random high school seniors, doing secret things on every full moon, ordering them around like you are their parent, them actually doing what you tell them. It’s really weird, okay?”

“Are you familiar with Harry Potter?” Derek asks.

Talk about a non sequitur. “What? What does that have to do with anything? And, of course I know Harry Potter!” As if it isn’t obvious he has read all the books, in order, at least 4 times.

“Well to quote Sirius Black, ‘Once again you’ve put your keen and penetrating mind to the task and as usual come to the wrong conclusion.’ “

The Sheriff starts snickering, and Stiles is both insulted and also a little in love. Is Derek a secret nerd? That would be just perfect, as if the asshole wasn’t attractive enough. Dammit.

“Alright you secret Animagus, why don’t you correct me.”

Derek actually starts laughing. “You have no idea how close you are. But I’m actually more Remus than Sirius.”

Huh?

Stiles looks at his dad and it’s clear that the sheriff has no idea what the hell they are talking about.

Suddenly, before Stiles’ eyes, Derek’s face shifts. Fangs drop out of his mouth, wicked sideburns push out of the sides of his face, and his brow gets more pronounced, and apparently sucks in his eyebrows? Stiles looks down at his hand, which is now furry and has claws, which are still gently gripping his ankle. The black lines continue to run up his arm, which Stiles thinks is somehow dulling his pain.

“Dude, what the fuck are you?”

Derek suddenly looks like Derek again. “Don’t call me dude. We’re werewolves, Stiles. Not a cult.”

What the fuck. He looks at his Dad, who is nodding slowly.

As ridiculous as that sounds, it actually helps to explain some of the odd behavior. Stiles looks at his Dad, who does not seem surprised at all, but rather focused on Stiles’ reaction. “So, you knew.”

“Yes. Derek and Parish briefed me once I accepted the position.” Huh, Parish knew too.

Then Stiles’ ADHD takes hold. “Oh my god, Animagus! HAHAHAHA!”

“You’re taking this shockingly well.” Derek looks at Stiles in question and finally pulls his hand from his ankle.

“So Dad, I’m guessing that Derek is helping you with cases at work? That’s what that crazy dude meant about you being in league with ‘monsters’?” And yes, he does real air quotes to make sure that Derek doesn’t get insulted.

His Dad nods and he looks back at Derek. “Okay, so now that the werewolf news is out of the bag, can I finally get an explanation for why you made everyone avoid me? What the hell? That really sucked, dude, and I still don’t understand why. It’s not like I had any idea about you. Are they all wolves too? Either way, what was the real danger?”

Derek actually looks remorseful, but also a little embarrassed? What the hell? “Most of my pack are werewolves, but we have a few other things as well. Stiles, the supernatural world needs to stay secret. As you unfortunately learned, there are hunters out there who would kill my pack without a second thought. I…” Derek clears his throat. “I lost almost all of my family to hunters when I was younger than you. I was betrayed by a human I thought I could trust. So, we try not to form close attachments with humans who don’t already know about us or who have no specific need to know about us.”

“What about Parish? Is he human? Why does he know?”

“We went to high school together and he was best friends with my sister Laura before, well before she was killed. He’s known for a long time. Now he acts as a liaison between my pack and local law enforcement.”

Fuck, he lost his whole family. Jesus. He knows how awful it was for him to lose his mother, he really can’t imagine what it would be like losing an entire family. Except for his creepy uncle? “Your Uncle Peter, is he all that’s left?”

“Yes. Both Peter and I eventually started noticing your smell on the pack, which is when I realized they had let in an unknown human without my knowledge which is not safe.”

“STOP – you noticed my smell? SMELL? What the hell?”

Derek sighs and looks to be holding in a smile. “We have heightened senses, and all things have a unique odor. Werewolves are able to remember smells and use them to track things, that’s how I knew you were in that abandoned house once I got close enough to pick up on it. Anyway, once I realized your scent was becoming stronger on multiple pack members that they were getting close to you, I ordered them to stop having a relationship with you. I’m. I’m sorry, I understand how cruel it was now because, at the time, I didn’t know you didn’t have other friends, but it was done out of my duty to keep my pack safe.” Derek is looking extremely constipated and his out of control eyebrows have never looked so severe. Is this seriously his apology face?

“So it was for your pack’s safety, not for my own? And seriously, I’m the Sheriff’s kid, who was told about you, how risky could I really be?”

Derek closes his eyes and looks genuinely pained before speaking. “Look, I’m trying here. I recognize that my previous experience is probably why I reacted the way I did. The pack has never tried to bring in someone new without asking me, and it just felt too eerily familiar to what got my entire family killed, including my younger siblings and cousins. I just, I’m sorry.”

Stiles chooses not to comment, because it’s starting to sound like Stiles was basically a trigger to Derek, bringing back all the trauma of losing his family.

Derek clears his throat and continues. “There are also risks associated with being aware of the supernatural world for you. Just like you were kidnapped to get to your father, the same risk would exist if you were part of my pack; hunters and other creatures might try to use you to get to us. It’s really irresponsible to bring people in and put a target on their back if it’s not absolutely necessary, especially humans who are not as strong as we are. That’s why we always try to keep knowledge about our kind as limited as possible.”

Stiles is uncharacteristically still and quiet. He looks over at his Dad, thinking about how he is his only family and what sort of things he might be capable of doing to keep his Dad safe. Stiles has known for a while that he’s comfortable with the concept of situational ethics and that what he prioritizes might not jive with societal norms. He looks back at Derek and thinks that if this man lost all of his family because he was deceived by a trusted human, of course he would be fine with being an asshole to Stiles if it keeps his new family safe.

He remembers the kidnapper yelling something about making Derek meet his dead family. Fuck. He just nods his head at Derek, letting him know he understands. However, Stiles still feels like he’s not getting the whole story. Why else would Derek be so uncomfortable to admit this? “Look, I understand the need to protect those you care about, okay. However, I think you could have done things very differently. Like maybe try to get to know me? Maybe talk with my Dad, see whether there could have been a more humane course of action? Because seriously, I’m not exaggerating that it was pretty traumatic for me. Your pack are the first people I ever really clicked with and having them all ignore me was fucking awful.”

“Language.”

Stiles rolls his eyes.

“I know.” Derek looks directly into Stiles eyes. “I’m sorry Stiles. I’m not going to apologize for doing what I thought was necessary to protect my pack, but it’s possible I could have done some things differently. You may be right.” Stiles has a feeling that Derek rarely admits things like this, so he takes it as a win. “I am sorry that you had to experience firsthand how awful hunters can be and that we couldn’t protect you from that. Your sudden emergence in my pack just triggered all my alpha instincts. You should know that my betas literally cannot defy the order I gave them, so please go easy on them. And Jesus, please forgive Scott. It was so pathetic. The kid really loves you.” The Sheriff laughs and Stiles does smile a little. And now all of Stiles’ comparisons of Scott to a dopey puppy are even more hilarious. He’s legit part canine! OMG, the jokes just make themselves.

Derek clears his throat. “What other questions do you have?”

Stiles has no problem getting back to the interview portion of this chat. “Was it you I kept seeing outside the house? On the full moon and some other nights?”

Stiles is pretty sure that there is pink creeping up on Derek’s cheeks from what he can see through the sexy stubble. “Yes, only alphas have red eyes. And even though you aren’t part of my pack, if another wolf or whatever the hell is killing kids in the woods got too close, I was nervous they would smell the pack on you, think you were mine and try to use you to get to me.” Stiles stomach clenches in an alarmingly pleasant way at Derek calling him ‘mine’. And isn’t that totally inappropriate and annoying. “I felt duty bound to check your home regularly because I didn’t want your tangential association with the pack to put you or your Dad in danger. I’m sorry if I scared you.”

“Okay, then can you explain to me what the deal is with that bracelet Lydia gave me? And was it you who snuck into my room to give it back to me?”

**Time to pause**. If this day wasn’t enough to turn Stiles’ understanding of the world upside down, there’s another important bit of information that Derek and his Dad are about to drop on him. They think that Stiles is a FUCKING WIZARD! Here’s how it went down:

Stiles’ Dad asks another question, ignoring his inquiry about the bracelet, “So there’s something else Stiles, have you ever heard of something called a Spark?”

Stiles gives a WTF face, so his Dad sighs and keeps going. “Okay, a Spark is a person who can do things. Magical things. If the Spark focuses on something really hard, believes in it enough, it will happen. Also, a Spark can learn to use symbols like runes and organic materials for, well…” He can sense his Dad is struggling to find the right words. “For spells, is that what you’re trying to say?” Where the hell is his Dad going with this?

Derek speaks up, “Sort of like spells, yeah.”

“I mean, it sounds like a wizard.”

Both men roll their eyes at Stiles.

“Okay, so now I know what a Spark is, why are you telling me this. Is one of your pack a Spark?”

Derek clears his throat and looks uncomfortable again. The Sheriff also looks uncomfortable. This can’t be good.

The Sheriff looks him in the eyes. “Stiles, can you think of any times recently when something happened, maybe something you were wishing for that just happened?”

Stiles face goes blank. Wait a second, are they talking about him? They think he can do MAGIC? Stiles starts racking his brain for anything like what they described. “I mean, I still don’t know what the deal was with that bracelet that Lydia made me wear, but it definitely did something to me when I put it on, like it felt warm and bright and made me feel safe.”

Derek nods his head. “Yeah, Lydia described it to me. The bracelet has protection and concealment runes in it, it was to try to keep the creature in the woods away from you. But we didn’t expect it to react to you the way it did, that’s when I started to suspect you might be a little more than human.”

“Then there was time you made the lights in the cafeteria at school flicker with your anger when you yelled at the pack for abandoning you.” His father adds.

“Whoa, that was me? Oh my god. Oh My GOD! Also, how did you hear about that? And the tire!” He turns his face back to Derek and practically screeches in his excitement. “I made the tire blow out on your Camaro! It was like when Harry made Dudley fall into the snake exhibit!”

Derek glowers at him, looking just this shy of furious. “That was YOU?!”

Stiles tries to sink into the couch even deeper. “Look, I was really upset, okay? I blamed you for losing all my friends. Which, by the way, was completely justified.” Stiles bristles. He’s not backing down.

Derek just sighs and relaxes again. “Stiles, what were you thinking while you were kidnapped? Were you wishing for something specific?”

“I’m still a little fuzzy on the details from whatever he drugged me with.” The Sheriff and Derek share a knowing look, but Stiles continues. “I think I was just wishing to please get out of there, just over and over in my head.” He pauses then looks at Derek. “Wait, how did you know where I was and get there so fast? The crazy guy had just sent a message to my Dad and didn’t expect a response nearly that fast. And, oh my god, at some point all the ropes I was tied with just released. Holy shit.” Stiles can only imagine how big his eyes must look right now. He looks at Derek to try to understand what is happening.

“I can’t explain it, but I was out in the Preserve running our borders and suddenly I just heard you in my head and knew where you were. It was an abandoned home not far from where I was, so I ran there on instinct. Once I got close enough, I could smell the wolfsbane, and then you, so I knew you were in there.”

“Whoa. That’s seriously nuts. I mean, I somehow psychically screamed for help and you heard me! That’s fucking cool, dude!”

Derek sighs, but it looks like he’s trying not to crack a smile. “Don’t call me dude.”

The Sheriff tries to get them back on track, “Stiles, Gerard, the man who took you, he said he drugged you?”

“Yeah, he said that whatever he gave me was not dosed for a human so I was out a bit longer than he expected. Huh, it must have been dosed for a werewolf. Weird.”

“Okay, that’s what we thought. You see, the bullet we pulled from your leg also had poison in it, wolfsbane to be specific. However, when we got your bloodwork back, there were no traces of drugs in your system.”

“Stiles, do you remember when I was driving you to the hospital, what I asked you to keep repeating?”

Stiles remembers glistening abs, but not much else. Trying not to choke, “Um, no, not really. The drive was a blur, honestly.” Please let him believe that.

Derek looks at him and smirks a bit, but then continues on. “I asked you to repeat over and over ‘I’m not poisoned.’”

“Oh, wait that actually does sound familiar now. I sort of remember that. Wait, do you think I used my crazy magic skills to counteract the drugs in my system? Holy shit, I’m a fucking WIZARD!”

Derek sighs, “Not a wizard, Stiles, a Spark.”

“As you’ve explained it, a Spark is a mythical creature who can do magic. AKA, a WIZARD.” He made sure to exaggerate every syllable, just in case Derek wasn’t getting the message. He’s earned the right to be a little shit, so too bad. He smirks at Derek, daring him to call him out on it. Derek just rolls his eyes but lets Stiles win. As he damn well should.

Wow, what a f’n day. “So what now? Do I suddenly get my friends back? Are they off leash and allowed to play with me again?” Stiles feels his irritation bubbling up again, which apparently results in dog jokes. Shit, is that considered racist? He’s going to need to work and channel his inner Michelle Obama and try to Go High. He’s not quite there yet.

Derek visibly tries to keep a neutral face rather than scowl at the dog joke. “I don’t know what else I can say, Stiles. I can’t change the past and do things differently. The rest of my pack are anxious to bring you back into the group and I’m okay with that. My first duty and instinct is always to protect, and I’m willing to admit to you that I need to work on how I go about that sometimes. Otherwise, you need to recuperate, and we’ll take some steps to figure out how to control your Spark abilities. Does that sound okay?”

Stiles nods and lets out a huge yawn. He’s exhausted. Apparently learning that supernatural creatures are real and that he may be one takes a lot out of him.

Derek gently lifts Stiles legs and gets up from the couch. “I’m glad you’re going to be okay.”

Derek walks to the door, and when he has it open Stiles calls out. “Derek?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for saving my life.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to update the total chapter count because I realized some of my planned chapters were too long. Currently it's at 18, but it's possible that might change a bit, just depends on how long things become when they are fully drafted. This one mainly focuses on how the pack apologizes to Stiles. :-) Also, Peter, being Peter.

Stiles is on bed rest and crutches for one week while the muscle in his leg heals. He has 18 stitches in his arm, but otherwise it’s not bothering him. His doctor even said it wouldn’t leave much of a scar.

It becomes clear to him on his first full day at home that the pack was serious about getting back into his good graces. Lydia brings him all of his classwork every day immediately after school, including detailed notes (even from classes she’s not in, he has no idea how she gets them and doesn’t ask). She then spends about 2 hours going over the class material that she deems most challenging and makes sure that Stiles doesn’t fall behind. It’s pretty obvious that Lydia considers her personalized home tutoring as ample recompense for her previous mean girl impersonation. He decides that he’s okay with this as her apology.

The only awkward moment came when Stiles asked her to show him her beta shift. The side eye she gave him was epic! Apparently, she’s not a wolf. How the hell was he supposed to know? She smugly informs him that she’s a banshee, and he mentally adds it to a list of things to research when he has more energy and time.

“So, I haven’t had a chance to tell you before, what with, well, everything. But, yeah, three of the books you were looking for arrived. I brought them home, they’re up in my room on my desk. You can grab them if you want.” For some reason Stiles feels shy telling this to her. He is a little embarrassed that he went through the trouble to track the books down, even though she and Jackson were being such jerks to him. When he finally looks up and makes eye contact with Lydia, she’s giving him a soft, genuine smile. One that he knows is precious and rare. “Thanks, Stiles.” He can tell that they will be okay.

Scott and Melissa come over quite often, one time with Kira and another time with Isaac, and almost always with dinner. Kira showed him her cool “control of electricity” skills by turning on his Xbox while seated on his couch, then apologized profusely when she shorted it out (Scott promises he knows how to fix it because she does it to his **all the time** ).

The time Isaac comes over, Stiles realizes that he doesn’t have a whole lot of motivation to make this tough on him. Something about Isaac brings out his protective instincts. Maybe it’s from how awful Isaac looked at lunch the first day the pack refused to let him sit with them. Maybe it’s knowing that Isaac has already had a shit ton of trauma to deal with himself.

Isaac is still a little wary around his Dad, but otherwise Stiles discovers that he is a pro-level cuddle buddy. He and Isaac engage in some seriously enjoyable platonic snuggles, with the perk of additional werewolf pain drain, on the couch while they both try to help Scott figure out what to get Kira for Christmas.

Eventually Stiles wonders out loud what happened to his Dad and Melissa and asks Scott and Isaac.

“They’re in the kitchen, having a chat about what life is like as the parent to a supernatural kid. It’s kind of adorable, actually.” Isaac has a small smile as he continues to listen to their conversation, making Stiles jealous of his super hearing. Then he notices that Scott is blushing a bit. “Scott, what’s up dude?”

Stiles can feel Isaac shaking with uncontrolled giggles (his legs are in Isaac’s lap, so it’s hard to notice). “Shut up, Isaac! It’s just, well. God, this is awkward. It sorta seems like my Mom and your Dad are possibly a little interested in being more than friends?”

Scott darts a look at Stiles, and for once it’s hard to know what is on his mind. “It’s cool, dude. I had suspicions about it before we went to your place for Thanksgiving. Your mom is awesome, so I wouldn’t mind at all. As long as you are cool with it.”

Scott smiles like Stiles is a unicorn shooting sunshine out of his ass. Seriously. “I think it’s awesome, and like, we could be actual brothers one day!”

They all start laughing. “Let’s slow your roll there, get them on a few dates before we start planning a wedding.”

The parents in question wander back into the living room and give the boys bemused faces when no one will explain what is so funny, and why the three idiots laugh even harder when they ask.

Erica and Boyd come over another afternoon with snacks and a few of old school DC movies, the original Superman, the 1989 Batman, and the underrated Superman II. They both snuggle on the couch with him and Erica gives him her best sad puppy eyes, hoping to be forgiven. Stiles is pretty sure that he’s not physically able to reject an apology made with big brown eyes and DC movies. He snuggles in next to Erica and grumbles. “Just don’t do it again. It was awful and I hate hating you.” Boyd throws a long arm around them both and they settle in for the movie marathon. They watch until the Sheriff gets home for dinner.

Even Jackson comes over and, in his own obnoxious way, apologizes to Stiles – by giving him a Nintendo Switch and a bunch of accessories and preloaded games. Then he agrees to play Stiles at Mario Kart, where Stiles proceeds to kick his ass. Stiles is still trying to figure out if the apology was the Switch or suffering the indignity of losing to Stiles at something.

By midweek, Stiles wonders if there is a pack schedule – a different kind of schedule, one that revolves around who is hanging with Stiles after school, who is next in line to grovel and beg forgiveness. At first he thinks he should find it patronizing, but in the end he decides it’s actually kinda nice.

The one constant is Derek. He’s there even more than his Dad who has to go into work. He stays with Stiles during the day while the rest of the group are at school, and usually leaves for a few hours after school while some combination of friends visit. Then he is often back for dinner until Stiles goes to sleep for the night. Every day.

At first Stiles was creeped out because he would wake up from a drug-induced nap on the couch to find Derek watching him. He’s not sure if this is Derek trying to earn his trust, to apologize? Maybe his apology comes with the regular magical wolfy pain drain, or maybe it’s that Derek doesn’t comment on how ripe he must be smelling with so long having gone without a shower (he can’t wait to get his stitches out for this very reason). Derek is a man of few words, so it’s really hard to know.

It’s also handy having him around because, as it turns out, Stiles would go crazy stuck in his room all day, and Derek is very good at carrying him up and down the stairs. Figuring this out the first time was a little bit awkward, but “the incident” has become one of those things that will never be discussed. Ever. On his second day back home, after Scott and Melissa left and his Dad had to run to the station, Derek sat next to him on the couch and drained his pain. Stiles loves this, don’t get him wrong, but it always makes him a feel a little fuzzy. Plus, Stiles was tired from all his visitors. He started yawning repeatedly and felt himself doing the nod, barely staying awake on the couch.

“Come on, let’s get you upstairs. You’re about to pass out.” Derek helped to get Stiles upright, but the pain drain made his body go like Jell-O. “I could just carry you.” Stiles blushed but agreed. Derek tried to look stoic about it, as if it wasn’t a big deal. He carried him up to his room and gently laid him on his bed. Stiles tried to keep his breathing regular and to think boring thoughts, because the last thing he wants is an awkward boner. It’s not his fault, even if he did act like an asshole, Derek is seriously attractive, and it’s so much worse up close and when Derek is being nice. What color are his eyes, even? It’s ridiculous.

Stiles thought Derek was moving to to leave his room, when instead Derek leaned over to his bedside table and started digging around in the drawer.

“Oh my god, what are you doing? Get out of there!” Stiles went from relaxed and slightly turned on to panicked in the blink of an eye. He definitely does NOT want Derek to find his lube and special toys. Oh my god.

Derek blushed furiously, which was somehow adorable even in the midst of Stiles panic, but rather than mention anything embarrassing (they both know why Stiles was freaking out, no getting around that one), Derek closed the drawer and had the bracelet in his hand. “Oh.” Stiles tried to modulate his breathing, calm down. Derek just wanted him to wear the bracelet. He quietly tied it back on Stiles wrist, which felt strangely intimate with his tanned, hairy fingers grazing over the sensitive skin of Stiles’ wrist. Once it was secure, Derek stood up and walked toward the door. “Goodnight, Stiles.”

**********

One evening late in the week (he’s started to lose track of what day it is) Peter stops over, much to the immediate annoyance of Derek. Peter just smirks at his nephew and gives Stiles a book. “Hello, Stiles. You seem to be healing, glad to know you have started to forgive the pack for my nephew’s overreaction.”

Stiles takes the book, but his eyes are focused on Peter. It’s obvious Derek is uneasy for some reason, but while Peter is obviously a creeper, he doesn’t actually feel threatened by him. “So, you’re one of those people.”

Peter’s smile widens and his eyebrows move up over his forehead. “One of what people?”

“A shit-stirrer. The Cheshire Cat. You like messing with other people and making waves. That’s what you were doing in the bookstore, wasn’t it? You just wanted to mess with Derek.”

“Oh, I really do like him. Derek, we have to keep him. Just think of the potential, all that intuition and power. Plus, Stiles, if you don’t mind me saying so, you smell absolutely…”  
“Peter, shut the fuck up!” Whoa, Derek has definitely hit his limit of Peter’s shit. Stiles is sort of amused, because Derek is now blocking Peter from where Stiles is spread out on the couch, like a bodyguard or something. Stiles is a little shit himself sometimes, so part of Peter’s mischief appeals to him. Also, Peter’s the only one who didn’t explicitly treat him like garbage. Time to calm down the Alpha. Stiles grabs at Derek’s arm and tugs him down toward the couch. “Come on Grumpy Wolf, he’s just messing with you. And by the way, you are making it _way_ too easy.”

Derek grumbles but then settles close to Stiles on the couch, drapes his warm muscled arm around Stiles’ shoulders, and throws Peter a challenging look, eyes seeping red.

The look on Peter’s face says it all. That was obviously the exact reaction he was going for. He and Stiles make eye contact and both try not to chuckle. “Alright. So, what’s with the book?” Stiles waves it around a little, trying to get back on track. It looks and feels old, bound in leather and has no title on the cover.

Peter lounges in his Dad’s favorite recliner, making himself right at home. “It’s part of my personal collection, it details all sorts of useful information about werewolves, pack dynamics, that sort of thing. I figured you will eventually need to know this stuff and might find it useful and interesting.”

“Wow, that actually sounds really cool. Thanks.”

Peter is smirking at Derek again and Stiles isn’t sure why this time. Derek seems pretty tense, so he guesses it has something to do with the book but he’s not sure what.  
“What’s the matter, Sourwolf? Am I not supposed to learn this stuff? Are you still trying to keep secrets from me?”

Stiles can feel his anger and frustration, which has substantially subsided by this point, bubble up and start to take him over. He thought they had moved passed this shit.

Derek puts his hand on the back of Stiles neck and squeezes, which somehow calms him down immediately. Whoa.

“No Stiles, that’s not it at all. It’s fine if you want to learn about how packs work. I just didn’t know that Peter. Well. Anyway, it’s fine.”

“Man, you really do struggle with words. It’s okay, I have more than enough of them for the two of us.”

He pauses then looks back over at Peter who has a fond expression on his face, weirdo. “This looks old, I’ll be careful with it.”

“I know you will, Stiles. I wouldn’t have lent it to you if I thought otherwise.” Peter leans forward and squeezes Stiles’ knee. This makes Derek growl and go all red-eyed again. Stiles rolls his eyes.

“I’ll show myself out, you two enjoy your evening together.” Peter winks at them as he walks out the door.

Now that was very obvious innuendo and the last thing Stiles needs to be thinking about, especially with Derek practically draped over him with his hand still on his neck. He sighs, Peter really is a little shit.

************

Another night, it’s Friday Stiles thinks, when he’s enjoying pizza with his Dad and Derek, he asks them whether there is anything else happening with the dude who kidnapped him. For example, did they find any accomplices?

His Dad mentions that the guy was called Gerard Argent and Derek bristles, eyes glowing red.

“I called Chris Argent, Gerard’s son. He doesn’t live in town anymore and apologized that someone from his family broke the code again. He’s checking his hunter network and if he gets any info he’ll contact me and your Dad.” Stiles nods but Derek continues on.

“You shouldn’t worry. Two members of the Pack run our borders every night and we are specifically tracking any scents of wolfsbane or anything possibly linked to Gerard. If there are others out there, we’ll find them.” Stiles starts laughing because now he knows why his friends were tired on a regular schedule. “Right, Boyd and Erica, then Scott and Kira, Jackson and Lydia, then Isaac. But not on the full moon, right? Do you all do it together that night? And wait, who runs with Isaac?”

Derek looks shocked and his Dad full on belly laughs. “Derek, this is one of the reasons I was going to argue that we tell Stiles. He’s pretty good at noticing things and drawing his own conclusions.”

Derek shakes his head, still clearly astonished that Stiles had figured that out on his own. “Um, either Peter or I run with Isaac.”

“So Lydia and Kira can run like the Wolves?”

“Kira, yes. Lydia can’t run like we can, so originally she wasn’t in the rotation. We paired Jackson with Isaac a few times, but he’s even more annoying than Peter and I feel like Isaac has suffered enough. We brought Lydia back in and they just take longer to make the circuit, do some of it by car, that sort of thing.”

Stiles nearly spits out his pizza he’s laughing so hard.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So listen, Stiles really needed to let off some steam. Poor, poor Derek. We've earned the rating in this chapter, so be prepared.

It’s the Sunday dinner before he has to go back to school and his leg is doing remarkably well. Derek and his Dad keep giving him looks across the kitchen table, expecting him to confess. Okay, so yes, he tested his special wizard powers to see if he could heal his leg. Sue him.

His Dad is the first one to crack.

“Stiles. Have you been healing yourself?”

Stiles does his best to use his big eyes to his advantage. The problem is that no matter what he does, he thinks he ends up looking maniacal rather than innocent. Derek actually snorts out a laugh at the look. Shit.

“Oh, come on! You can’t tell me I’m a wizard and then expect me to just sit around and not do anything. Besides, my magic is strong and good. My leg is almost all better.” Stiles throws them what he thinks is a winning smile and is a little insulted that they both just groan and roll their eyes.

Now it’s Derek’s turn to scold him. “Stiles, until you get training, you need to lay off the magic. It is powerful stuff and you could hurt yourself or someone else.”

“Well, oh mighty Alpha,” He’s pretty sure Derek’s eyes bleed red for a second, there, “How do you propose I get this training?”

“Dr. Deaton is going to be coming over after school on the days you aren’t working. He is highly knowledgeable about the supernatural world and has agreed to teach you and monitor your progress.”

“Dr. Deaton? The veterinarian? You have to be kidding me? The same one Scott volunteers for?”

“Stiles.” His dad sound exasperated. “Stop while you’re ahead and before you start accidentally insulting different species.” 

Duly chastised, Stiles nods his head. But werewolves go to the vet? It’s SO easy. “Fine, but I’m going to start calling it Hogwarts Home School and none of you will be able to stop me.”

Derek’s shoulders are shaking. Clearly the alpha cannot resist Stiles humor.

*******************

Stiles welcomes Deaton to his home on Tuesday after school.

“Thanks again, Doc. I’m pretty excited to starts Hogwarts Home School!”

Deaton does not seem to be amused. Derek follows the doctor in, and Stiles just guesses that the alpha wants to monitor his progress.

Deaton gives him a bunch of documents and books with assigned readings, then starts telling him about how he will need to practice drawing runes and learning to identify plants and their properties. He learns that some plants and symbols can be used for different things, to protect, to heal, and for offensive purposes.

“Stiles, another important aspect of using your Spark is learning to quiet your mind and focus. I suggest you begin practicing meditation. This will help you focus, which will eventually strengthen your force of will and your powers as a spark.”

“Dude, doc, I’ve got terrible ADHD. People have tried to teach me meditation before and it was always a disaster.”

“Stiles, were you better able to focus once you wore the bracelet Lydia gave you?”

“Yeah actually, I was. No one has explained that to me yet.”

“I suspect that many of your ADHD symptoms were actually attributable to your Spark. You had a lot of stored up magic in you that was looking for outlets, but once you started wearing the bracelet you had a physical way to channel it. I think it helped to absorb some of the excess magic, which is why it would heat up and calm you.” Deaton says that once he’s trained up and able to release his magic in other ways, some of that excess energy will start to calm down.

However, it turns out that ADHD or not, he’s still terrible at meditating. So far Derek had been sitting quietly, seemingly content to observe the lesson.

“Derek, can you come over here and place your hand on Stiles neck, I want to see if that will help him focus and relax.”

Stiles can feel a slight flush begin to overtake his face. Dammit. He makes a quick glance at Derek who also looks a little hesitant, but eventually he walks over and does as Deaton asks. As soon as Derek’s hand is on his neck, Stiles feels calm and content. He’d be annoyed if it wasn’t so soothing. Derek squeezes gently, then slowly rubs his thumb up and down. Stiles focuses on the meditation exercise and before he knows it, a half hour has passed and Deaton has a pleased smile on his face.

Weird. “So, why does Derek touching my neck help? Is it an Alpha thing, or a werewolf thing?”

Deaton gives Derek a thoughtful look before answering. “I would say that it’s both, and also a Derek thing.” Stiles is beginning to understand that Deaton is a master of the non-answer.

“So, there’s another thing I was wondering about. Can you explain why Derek was the one who heard me when I was kidnapped? I asked Scott and he said none of the other pack members knew I was in trouble.”

Deaton thinks a moment before responding. This should be good. “It’s impossible to know for sure, but I suspect it has something to do with a potential Alpha-Spark bond.” At this, Derek begins choking on his glass of water. Stiles starts slapping his back, a little concerned at how red Derek’s face is getting.

He looks back at Deaton who is definitely trying to hide a smile. Clearly he missed something. “Stiles, you and Derek appear to be extremely compatible, and I think your Spark instinctively called to him.” Whoa, if only that meant compatible in a sexy way. Shit, this is just more fodder for his spank bank.

“So what does that mean, an Alpha-Spark bond?” He glances at Derek, who has stopped choking but is now even redder, including his ears. Damn that’s adorable.

“It’s a unique type of relationship within a werewolf pack, not all packs have an Alpha bonded to a Spark and it’s quite special, it usually provides great strength to the pack and the Alpha. In most cases Sparks are just regular members of the pack, not necessarily able to create an Alpha-Spark bond.”

“But, I’m not part of the pack.” Stiles says this quietly, because he really wants to be, but he knows that he’s not.

“Well, not yet, but you have the potential to become the pack Emissary. I’ll teach you about the role and what it entails.” Stiles makes a mental note to look through the book Peter brought him for any mention of Alhpa-Spark bonds and Emissaries. 

“Okay, but, I mean. At the time I was kidnapped I sort of hated Derek. I blamed him for losing all of my friends. Why on earth would my spark seek out someone I was so mad at?”

Stiles can hear Derek sigh as Deaton is about to answer. “Regardless of the specific emotions you were feeling, they were clearly very strong. Angry or happy, the strong emotion suggests interest and a strong bond potential.”

“Right.” Stiles has absolutely no idea what the Doc is talking about. He feels like Rachel on that episode of Friends when she pretends she can see her baby on the ultrasound, but has no idea what she’s looking at. He never thought he’d empathize with that moment quite so much.

***************

Later that night, after Deaton left, his Dad came home with pizza and wings for dinner. Derek is still there, which puzzles Stiles since he’s now perfectly able to get up and down the stairs without help. Whatever.

He notices his Dad looks really bad.

“Dad? What’s wrong?”

The Sheriff sighs as he sits down at the kitchen table, passing out plates to the three of them. “Two more kids were killed, the bodies were found after school today.”

Stiles feels the blood draining out of his face and without thinking grabs Derek’s hand. “Who were they, Dad? Were they in the woods like the other ones?”

“They were two students from your school, but this time the bodies were barely off school property. They were found in the wooded area just bordering the lacrosse field. It seems they were a couple and we think they probably sneaked into the woods to be alone. But everything points to the same killer.”

“Damn. And so close to school. Shit.” Stiles feels awful. He’s terrified, sad, and frustrated.

“Hey.” Derek places his hand on his neck again and pulls him toward him so that Derek can look right at him. “We’re going to find whatever is doing this, okay? Nothing is going to hurt you, I promise.” His eyes bleed just a little red when he says it and Stiles can’t prevent the small shiver that runs through his body.

“Okay, but I’m going to help however I can.” Derek smiles and nods, then turns back to his pizza. Stiles turns back as well and can’t ignore the slightly smug look on his Dad’s face. Oh my god, time to start eating and ignoring everyone and everything.

The next evening, Stiles Dad is at the station working on the newest murder cases and Stiles has a few precious hours at home to himself. Now, he fully admits that he’s really happy to have his friends back, and he enjoys their visits, his job, and Hogwarts lessons. He definitely doesn’t mind all the time he’s been spending with an exceedingly gorgeous alpha werewolf. However, all the hovering and apologizing has severely limited Stiles opportunities to enjoy a little self-love. And OMG, he’s ready to burst.

Derek was perfect fodder for his fantasies even when he thought he was an asshole cult leader. But now that he’s learning more about him, exchanging not-so casual neck touches with him, sees how much he is focused on caring for his pack and for him and his dad, well, he knows he is in deep shit. And if he doesn’t get some of this sexual tension out, he really will embarrass himself in front of Derek soon. And a quick jerk in the shower is just not cutting it.

Tonight, Stiles is doing it properly.

He’s lying on a towel on his bed, clothes from the day scattered on the floor of his room. He’s been slowly jerking his cock for a little while now, just enough to get hard. Time to get to the good part. He bends his knees so he can plant his feet apart on the bed, uncaps his lube, and gets two of his fingers nice and wet. It’s ridiculous, but since the moment when Derek may or may not have seen his lube and dildo in the drawer of his bedside table, Stiles is even more turned on by them. It’s like some sort of weird twist on an exhibitionism kink that he didn’t know he had. Like maybe Derek has thought about what was in that drawer, about what Stiles likes to do to himself. Fucking hell.

He reaches down his body and starts to rub his fingers around his hole, toes pressing into the bed for better leverage. This is when his long limbs and fingers become particularly helpful. He gently slides one finger in and sighs in pleasure. Fuck this feels amazing. It’s been way too long since he had time to do this.

His fingers are long and thin, but what if this was Derek’s fingers? Oh god, Derek’s fingers are so wide, they would feel fucking fantastic. Stiles groans at the thought of Derek doing this to him, his other hand stroking his dick even faster.

Once he feels ready, he grabs his dildo. He always called it D, for obvious reasons, but now it makes him think of Derek. How big is Derek, bigger than this? Fuck, he bets he is.

From past experience Stiles knows a different position will make this easier and more pleasurable. He flips onto his stomach, trapping his hard, weeping dick between his stomach and the towel. He’s got a condom and lube on the dildo and reaches behind himself to start pressing it in. He knows just how slow to go, just which angles make him bite his pillow and moan. He’s imagining it’s Derek pressing into him, grabbing his hips so he can push in hard and deep. Fuck he wants that.

“Oh fuck, oh god.” He’s hitting his prostate perfectly and can’t stop himself from canting his hips to get friction on his dick. Jesus this is perfect, he needed this so bad. It feels so fucking good, oh god.

Just a few more thrusts of D and Stiles is coming all over his towel, shivering with how fucking fantastic that was.

He lets himself enjoy the tingly, relaxing aftershocks, not worried at all that he’s lying in his own mess. Eventually he pulls the dildo out and takes off the condom. So much easier for cleanup, seriously. He tosses it in the trashcan by his desk and languidly gets up and drops the soiled towel in his hamper. He wanders to the bathroom naked to clean up.

About 5 minutes later he’s in his pajamas and lounging on his bed, so fucking relaxed and happy with life. It’s a credit to his current state that he barely bats an eye as his window pulls open and a dark figure climbs through it into his room. Derek. Whoa, thank GOD he wasn’t 10 minutes earlier. Don’t laugh, don’t do it.

“Didn’t feel like using the front door, big guy?”

Derek looks odd. His mouth is open a little, is he panting? “Were you on a run or something? Everything okay?”

Derek shakes his head and tries to refocus. “I could hear that you were upstairs, didn’t want to make you come down to the front door.” Derek sits on his desk chair and turns to look at Stiles.

“Oh, okay. Wow, your hearing really is something." Jesus, seriously so glad he didn't get here sooner. Did he moan Derek's name at all? He would NEVER recover from that humility. "Okay, well, what’s up?”

“How are you feeling?”

“Pretty good, great actually.” Stiles gives a relaxed stretch and smiles, and notices that Derek is clenching his hands on the sides of the desk chair, turning his knuckles white. “Are you sure you are okay?” Stiles sits up to let Derek know he’s listening. “Did you need something?”

Derek chokes a bit, shakes his head then seems to refocus, again. “When you are up to it, I’d like to have you start joining our pack meetings. We usually have them once a week unless there is a special emergency.”

“Does that mean I’m part of the pack?” Stiles starts to feel really excited and hopeful at the prospect.

“It’s sort of complicated. You are starting to feel like pack, especially now that most of the members are seeing you and spending time with you on a daily basis. You are definitely heading in that direction, and if it’s something you want then coming to pack meetings and being more involved in what we do will definitely make you pack faster. Also, Deaton mentioned you could potentially be our Emissary, which would make you pack.”

Stiles can feel the smile stretch across his face. For his whole life he never really fit in, but he craved connections with people, and not just people who tolerated him. He wanted to find people who actually liked him for him, wanted him there. He knows he can be tough, but maybe this is what he has been looking for all along.

Sensing that he’s actually on the verge of getting embarrassingly emotional, he tries to respond like a normal person. “Yeah, I mean I would really like that. I feel like I fit better with all of you than I have with anyone before, and according to Deaton I may actually be helpful to you. So yeah, I would like to be part of your pack.”

Stiles notices that Derek swallows and his eyes glow red. “Good. If you are up to it, next week we’ll meet on Wednesday at my loft, I’ll text you the address. We meet at 6 and usually have some sort of meal.”

Stiles, awkward as always, shoots finger guns at Derek. “Sounds good, Alpha.”

Derek makes another choked off noise, then nods his head and quickly leaves out the window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Side note, my idea to have Stiles' ADHD be linked to his Spark is not original. The first fic I read that implied this was "When You're Close I Feel the Sparks" by Leslie_Knope. I LOVE this fic, Derek and Stiles are precious in it. Go and read it. l don't know if others before her had this idea but I thought it was so clever. 
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/12408531/chapters/28234899
> 
> The next chapter should be up tomorrow. It's the first pack meeting with lots of tension thanks to Deputy Parish.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the first pack meeting! And because I needed a little fluff, I'm going to upload another chapter after this one because I love so much how it ends. Also, if any of you begin to wonder how Stiles, who is clearly good at noticing things, could ever be so oblivious to what is going on with Derek, here is my reasoning. Part of him notices, but his sadly low self-esteem paired with how tactile werewolves are in general is enough to convince him that Derek is just treating him like anyone else. 
> 
> Hope you all had a nice weekend. Thanks again for reading and all the comments!

On Wednesday Stiles finds himself parking outside an industrial looking building which matches the address Derek sent him for the Pack Meeting. He’s fucking giddy that he’s allowed to take part in this. There’s a slight chill in the air since it’s early December and Stiles hopes that the space has sufficient heat. He’s learned the wolves run a little hot and don’t always notice when a human would feel cold. Freezing in cars with Scott made that abundantly clear.

Stiles rides the elevator up to Derek’s floor and hits the buzzer next to his door. Isaac is the one to greet him and usher him in. The space is huge and pretty sparse. He’s not really surprised, he didn’t’ expect Derek to live in a cushy, warm place. There are some folding chairs and a single couch. He sees a spiral staircase leading up to another level, probably with bedrooms.

Isaac gives him a quick, strong hug, then passes him over to Scott for his usual bear hug. Stiles is laughing, he can’t help it. “Hi guys, it’s nice to finally be invited.” He winks at the group on the couch, Lydia, Jackson, and Boyd, so they know he’s joking.

Once Scott lets him go, strong slim arms hug him from behind, and he’s pretty sure he feels the soft press of impressive breasts squashed against his back. “Stiles, so glad you’re here!”

He pat’s Erica’s arm and smiles. “Me too!”

He notices Peter sitting on one of the folding chairs, smiling as he watches the group welcome Stiles, and a somewhat uncomfortable looking Deputy Parish sitting next to him. “Peter, Parish, nice to see you.” Stiles gives them a saucy wave. Peter smiles at him, but he gets just a nod from Parish, who seems to be looking at something behind Stiles.

“Erica, let him breath, for god’s sake.” Erica snickers at that and saunters off to plop down onto Boyd’s lap and Stiles thought he heard her mumble something like ‘jealous wolf’ under her breath. Then he feels that warm, large hand land on the back of his neck and can’t help but close his eyes for a brief moment and sigh at how wonderful it feels. “Stiles, welcome. Glad you were able to join us today.”

He is pretty sure he has a dopey grin on his face as he turns to smile at Derek, but if they can tolerate Scott then there had better be no complaining about it. “Hey, Sourwolf. Thanks for inviting me. I heard there would be food, is there?”

Derek snorts and finally lets go of Stiles’ neck. There’s pizza and stuff in the kitchen, not sure how you missed it.”

“Hey, don’t judge me! I’m still not used to all the wolf loving that you guys greet me with now. But yes, now that you mention it, I can smell pizza. Thanks!”

He runs over and fills up a plate, literally salivating at the idea of dinner. He wanders back to the ‘living area’ and sees that Derek has saved him a seat on a folding chair next to him. Nice!

“I gotta say, if you guys do this weekly, we need to get this place a little more cozy. Dad and I have some extra chairs and a small loveseat in our basement that didn’t fit well in the new house, we could bring those over if you want them.” Stiles knows this is why people usually can’t handle him. He just can’t not say what he’s thinking sometimes. He just insulted Derek, their alpha and host. Thankfully, Lydia comes to his rescue.

“Stiles is totally right, Derek. As I’ve been saying for months now, we really need to decorate and get this place more livable. And while it’s sweet to offer his extra furniture, I’m sure we can do a little better than that. Come on Derek, if you won’t listen to me, surely you’ll listen to Stiles. Give him your best puppy eyes, Stiles.”

And now Stiles is blushing furiously and trying to not look at Derek at all. Unfortunately, this means he ends up looking over toward Peter and Parish. Peter looks absolutely delighted by this conversation, probably because it’s pissing off Derek. Parish, however, looks furious. And, it sort of looks like that fury is directed at Stiles. Um.

“Stiles, focus. Give him the big brown eyes, for me. Please!”

“Lydia, enough.” And now Derek has hit his limit. Stiles changes his mind and decides he’d rather face Derek’s annoyed face than whatever is going on with Deputy Parish. He looks over at Derek and gives him his trademark awkward smile. The alpha is looking at him, ears a little pink again, god Stiles loves that. Derek sighs, shifts off his seat a little so he can dig into his back pocket and pulls out his wallet. He drags out a credit card and hands it over to Stiles. What? What the fuck is happening?

“Go with Lydia, pick out what you think we need. Can we move on to more pressing matters now?”

Stiles was less stunned when he learned werewolves were real, he’s sure of it. What the hell just happened? He looks over at Lydia who is smiling at him like he is her newest, most favorite calculus proof. He’s sure he hears Peter chuckling but refuses to look over and accidentally lock eyes with Parish. Then he looks down at the credit card and almost shits his pants. Derek gave him an American Express Black Card. This is one of those mythical cards that has no credit limit. Oh my god, Derek is loaded. He quickly puts it safely in his own wallet, absolutely freaked out to be responsible for something so powerful. And yes, he appreciates the irony that this card seems more terrifying than his Spark powers. Whatever.

Then he accidentally glances up and catches sight of Parish again. This time the Deputy is very obviously looking at Derek, and his face screams of longing and sadness. He catches Stiles looking at him and full out sneers at him. What the hell is going on, Parish was always so nice to him before?

“Scott, Kira, you ran last night, anything to report?” Derek is clearly trying to get the meeting back on track.

Kira and Scott both sigh in frustration. Kira responds. “No, we made sure to check each place where the bodies have been found but there is still no scent aside from the victims and the crime scene personnel. It really makes no sense, there has to be something doing this. What has no scent?”

This is interesting, not something Stiles had heard about yet. He hums to himself, thinking about something he read in a book Deaton gave him. “You know, it’s possible to use magic to hide scents.”

Stiles was hoping to add to the discussion and was unprepared for a snarky laugh from Deputy Parish. “Is it really a good idea for Stiles to be a part of this? What, is he going to accuse Deaton of murdering kids next? He shouldn’t be here, he’s just a human and has no training in any of this.”

Stiles can’t help the pained breath he pulls in, because Parish just wielded his biggest insecurity like a precision weapon.

Before Stiles can even release his breath, he feels Derek’s hand back on his neck and he practically growls. “Stiles stays. He’s in training with Deaton and may very well be exactly the thing we need to figure this whole thing out. He’s smarter than probably anyone in this room and his spark is very strong.” Lydia can’t help to cough at that one, no way is Stiles smarter than her. He agrees.

Parish bristles. “Well, I can’t wait to see how precious Stiles solves this case. Because it’s clear the rest of us aren’t doing enough to please you.”

Stiles really needs to figure out the background of whatever this is, because he’s fallen into the middle of something he doesn’t understand. He will definitely have a chat with Scott about this later.

Surprising everyone, except Stiles, it’s Peter who calms everyone down. “I suggest that we start having Stiles read the Hale Family Archives, maybe starting with the bestiary. It’s always good to have a fresh pair of eyes, and we all know how observant he is. Feeding his brain while Deaton trains him with his magic seems like a good approach to me. Anyone have a problem with that?”

Derek nods his head. “That’s a good idea, but he’ll have to do it here. Is that okay Stiles? We don’t let the archives outside of the loft.”

“Actually, Deaton wanted me to see if you would let me start reading them. I’m really excited to dig in. And it’s no problem coming over here, especially after Lydia and I get this place to feel a little homier.” Stiles smiles nervously, still not sure about how to navigate the tensions in the room. “Also, I’ve been practicing tracking and protection runes with Deaton and he thinks I’m good enough now to start adding them to the territory border. I thought I could go out with one of the pairs on their night patrol to add them, would that be okay?”

Derek is giving him the red eyes again and Stiles thinks he hears a low-grade rumble coming from him. If he were hard pressed to name it, he would call it a purr, like a giant happy cat. Oh my god, he’s losing his mind. Before Derek gets it together enough to respond, Stiles hears Peter bark out a laugh. “I think that’s a fine idea, Stiles. In fact, you should probably go with Derek. Deaton mentioned your magic is more settled around him, and I’m sure my nephew won’t mind.”

Stiles has to force himself to look away from Derek, toward Peter. “Great! It turns out that using my spark helps with my ADHD, so I’m hoping that setting up these wards and runes will also help me study before midterms!”

Most of the pack start laughing at him, well actually they laugh with him. But Parish is done and stands up. “Glad to see we’re all taking this so seriously. I’m heading out. Derek, I’ll let you know if we find anything new that is useful and expect the same courtesy from you.”

“Thanks, Jordan. Of course.” Parish looks like he’s waiting for something more from Derek, and when he doesn’t get it a hurt expression crosses his face. He storms out of the loft.

Whoa, and people say teenagers are dramatic.

**************

The next day after school Stiles and Scott are back at his house to resume Stats tutoring. They are working up in his room and Stiles is able to keep them on track and get through their homework. Once they finish, he takes advantage of this opportunity to ask a bunch of questions that have been burning in his brain. Some that he was too nervous to ask Derek about, and others based on the pack meeting last night.

“Alright Scott my man, can you help me understand exactly what it is that werewolves can do? Like with the super senses, how does that work?”

Scott smiles. “Yeah, it is pretty cool. And since I’m a bitten werewolf, I can totally appreciate the differences. So, like, our hearing is really good. We can even hear heartbeats, that’s how we know if someone is lying to us. Their hearts skip a beat, it’s like being a breathing lie detector. Which is awesome sometimes, but also sort of awkward since all the other wolves can also tell if you’re trying to lie about something.”

“Whoa. Dude, no one told me that! Wow, that’s actually really helpful. So, I should assume any white lies I may have told were obvious?”

Scott smiles, “Yeah, but no worries. Humans do that all the time so it’s no big deal. We’re all used to it. And honestly, the biggest difference in my opinion is the sense of smell. I mean, it’s like humans have no idea what they are missing. It’s almost like I can’t compare smell as a human to what it is as a wolf, they are so different.”

“What does that mean? Because it’s stronger?”

“I guess so? I mean, it is definitely stronger, but also we have this crazy memory for it, and it also sort of means more? Like, we can figure out how people are feeling based on their smell. Like when you get really angry you put off a certain sort of smell, same if you are embarrassed or happy, that sort of thing. And also, I just never had any idea about how everything has a specific smell. And man, it took a long time to get used to ignoring them.”

“Why would you want to ignore them? Oh, you mean like farts! Dude, they must be awful for you!” Stiles is dying with laughter just thinking about it.

“Dude, not that’s not even it, but yeah you’re right. No, it’s like, I mean god, the boys locker room at school. I have to fight not to gag in there. It’s like toxic fumes, seriously.”

“Oh my god, I can only imagine.”

“Plus, the scent thing makes privacy like not even possible. We always can smell if anyone has been up to anything, if you know what I mean.”

Stiles thinks he does. Oh. Oh no. “So, not to be gross or anything, but can you be a little more specific? I only ask because I’m hoping I’m wrong and that I don’t need to exile myself to a tiny island in shame.”

Scott snickers and blushes. It’s adorable. “I mean, yeah, teenage boys rooms have a certain aroma. No getting around it. And, you know, any one of us can totally tell if someone had been engaging in some sexy times, solo or with someone else. Oh my god, especially if there are fluids of any kind. Those smells just last forever.”

“So, your saying that right now, in my room…”

“I mean, yeah dude. Sorry. I’m getting pretty good at ignoring it now. And I mean, if it makes you feel any better, my pretty much smells the exact same way. Just with bits of Kira added to the mix. Which to be honest, I kinda love.” Scott gets his love-struck face which is good, because Stiles is slowly dying on the inside. Scott can smell it in his room right now, and the last time he partook in some self-pleasure in here was a day ago. But that one night, that one fantastic night. He thought he was in the clear, but Derek was in there just 5 minutes after he finished. Oh. My. God. He really wants to die. Add this to the list of what shall never be mentioned. Fucking werewolves.

“Alright.” Oh my god, his voice just broke like he was going through puberty all over again. “One more thing, what was the deal with Derek and Parish last night? I felt like a tennis ball being thrown between the two of them. There has to be some backstory, right?”

Scott grimaces. “Ugh, it’s so awkward. They used to be together. They dated, or whatever they were doing, for about a year. We could all tell how attached Jordan was getting to Derek, I mean we could smell the feels coming off of him. And they were obviously, you know, pretty active together, physically. Again, we could smell it. But Derek was only ever casual about it. Derek eventually broke it off a few months ago because he knew he didn’t feel that strongly about Parish, not like, I want to be with you forever be my mate kind of strong. It’s super awkward now because we still need to work with Parish, and I know that Derek regrets it because it’s making our collaboration with the Sheriff’s department more difficult. But actually, now that we’ve got your dad, hopefully it won’t be as bad. So yeah, Parish is pretty hurt and pissed at Derek right now. And Derek’s, um, focus on you and your training is clearly pissing him off.”

Stop the fucking presses. DEREK IS INTO DUDES. Holy fucking shit. This is SOOOOOOO bad. Also, now he can’t get the image of Parish and Derek together, like that. Jesus, to be the meat in the middle of that sandwich.

Scott immediately scrunches up his nose. “Stiles, for the love of god, were you not listening to me? I can literally smell what you are thinking about right now. Help a guy out and calm down, dude.”

Stiles slaps both hands over his rapidly blushing face. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I hate my life.” Then he dramatically grabs Scott by both of his shoulders. “But Scooooot, they are so hot. I can’t stop my brain from picturing it. Why???”

Scott just shakes him off, laughing.

“Well, I suppose this is better than when I thought Derek was a cult leader. I still argue that my deductions were perfectly reasonable, but I do feel a little bad about it.” Scott looks at him slack jawed.

Eventually they both dissolve into laughs. It’s nearly impossible to be embarrassed with Scott, and, not for the first time, Stiles is unbelievably grateful to have made such an awesome friend.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, the fluffy fluff. And also major Peter feels.

Stiles starts spending a few hours, a few days a week at the loft reading all the books he can. He goes there after working shifts at Literatum, and also after training at home with Deaton. Derek, Peter and Isaac are almost always there and usually provide some sort of food for dinner.

Stiles ends up spending a lot of time with Peter, who shows him the books in their archive and gives him info on what he’ll likely find useful in each tome. But, in the background, Derek is always there. Stiles doesn’t know when it happened, but just being near the alpha is enough to make him feel safe and happy.

One night he arrives just as Derek is leaving. He tries not to act upset, but he’s gotten used to spending time with the alpha every day and wasn’t expecting to miss him tonight.

“Where are you headed off to?”

Derek sighs. “I’m heading to the station to meet with Parish and your Dad. We’re going to try to strategize whether we need to change our search grids and approach.”

Stiles is shocked at how quickly feelings of jealousy spike up within him at the idea of Derek going off to see Parish. It’s stupid. He has no claim over the man, and he also knows that Derek isn’t even interested, in him or in Parish. Besides, Parish is hot, it’s not like Derek would ever go for someone like him if that is his type. He slaps a smile on his face and wishes Derek well with his meeting.

Derek smiles at him then walks out the door. Stiles stares at it for a moment until he feels Peter place a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Stiles. Derek has zero interest in Parish beyond helping to find the killer.”

Well, this is humiliating. And now he knows he can’t lie to the wolf. Dammit. “Am I really that obvious?”

“Yes. Now get over your pining, we have work to do tonight.”

Stiles smirks, he does appreciate that Peter is blunt with him.

“Where’s Isaac?”

“He’s at Scott’s, working on some history thing.”

Stiles nods and follows after Peter.

“I think it’s time you hear the full story about what happened to the Hale pack. You have gotten bits and pieces, but I think having the entire context will be useful to you.”

They both sit on the couch, and Stiles can tell that Peter is being nonchalant about it as a way to cope with what he is about to relive. He tells Stiles about young Derek, recovering from the heartbreak of losing his first love Paige who died after getting the bite, how a 20-something hunter named Kate Argent seduced 15-year-old Derek into a secret sexual relationship to get access to his family. How she eventually burned them all down in their own home in the Preserve, trapped in the house by a ring of mountain ash. Stiles can feel tears streaming down his face as he listens. Only Derek, his sister Laura, and Peter survived. At this point Peter can no longer remain casual and actually closes his eyes to get through the rest. About how he woke up from a coma in the hospital, where he had been after suffering severe burns from the fire. How his mind was lost to him in his need to avenge his family, his wife and daughter who were killed. How he, in his blood lush, murdered his own niece without thought to gain the powers of an alpha which allowed him to hunt down Kate argent to avenge his family.

Stiles squeezes his hand. “Peter. Did you know what you were doing when you killed her?”

Peter chokes back a sob. “Not really. I didn’t realize until after she was dead. I didn’t even recognize her smell, which is still impossible for me to understand. I was basically feral, running on instinct alone.” Choking back more sobs, he continues. “I still don’t know how Derek can even look at me.”

Peter opens his eyes to look at Stiles and the tears he was holding back run down his face. He squeezes Stiles hand and continues, about how he bit Scott while high on his Alpha powers, how he was hunted down like the monster he was, and how when he died his Alpha strength transferred to Derek. He gave vague explanations about how he was able to use Lydia as a banshee to resurrect himself, and has since been doing everything he can to make this life of his worthy.

“Stiles, that’s why Derek reacted the way he did to you. You reminded him of her.” Peter looks at him expectantly.

“I know, Derek told me, the whole unknown human smell thing. I get it.”

Peter rolls his eyes but just continues on. “You brought back all of his guilt over what happened with Kate and he reacted poorly. Your smell reminded him of Kate.”

“He was 15 years old! She was a fucking child molester; he has nothing to feel guilty about!”

“Stiles, it’s easy to say that, and you are right, but getting Derek to actually listen and believe that is a totally different thing.”

Stiles quietly looks at Peter. “And what about you? Have you forgiven yourself?”

“That is an entirely different matter. I was no child, I was not innocent. I murdered my own niece, I tormented and abused Lydia to resurrect myself. My guilt is my penance.”

“You may not be innocent, but I understand. I’m pretty sure I would not be in my right mind to make good decisions in those circumstances.” He squeezes Peter’s hand, again realizing how much they have in common. “Also, I love how your chosen method of making this life worthwhile is by teasing and messing with your nephew at all possible times. Only you, Peter.”

Peter laughs at that, clearly happy to have lightened the mood. “Well, I was a manipulative bastard before the fire, it was just usually either for pranks or to do things that I thought needed to be done, for the greater good. I’m happy to say I’m essentially operating the same way these days.”  
“So, I’ll never know if you’re working on a prank or on something you actually find meaningful?”

“I’ll keep you on your toes, Stiles. Don’t worry. And I have every confidence that eventually you’ll figure it out.”

Stiles snorts. “Sure. Oh, by the way. Lydia and I finished shopping yesterday. And Jesus, let me say now that I _never_ volunteer for that duty again. It’s an Olympic sport with her. The furniture and television will be delivered tomorrow. Also, Lydia took Derek’s credit card…. I just, I really couldn’t stop her. Is he going to kill me?”

Peter’s full bellied laughs Peter make Stiles smile. “No, Derek’s credit card can handle even Lydia. It’s happened before and it will again. And she is well aware that Derek is not going to blame you. She’s a menace, what a brilliant mind to figure out how to work this to her advantage so quickly.”

“Right, well as long as he won’t kill me. One more thing.”

Peter just smirks, “I have a feeling you are going to say that a lot, and very rarely will it be true.”

Stiles smiles, “I’ve been reading the book on pack dynamics and wondered if you ever have meetings that are just for fun?”

“Do you mean aside from the weekly pack meeting?” Stiles nods. “No, not specifically.”

“Okay, from what I can tell, it’s important for everyone in the pack to be in close contact fairly regularly, and that building up positive connections among the members is just as important as all the defensive stuff Derek has them doing.”

Peter smiles and nods, indicating Stiles should continue. “Well, just like thinking that this place needs to feel more comfortable, I think that it might be good for the pack if maybe once a week, in addition to the meeting, or maybe right after, we just hang out for fun. Like, watch movies or go out somewhere together. I mean, lots of us are together at school, but that leaves out you and Derek. And school isn’t by choice, so I think some sort of fun pack activities could help strengthen bonds, or something like that.”

Peter’s smile is soft and genuine. “Pick a night Stiles, maybe this weekend. We’ll host a movie night for the whole pack, break in all the stuff being delivered tomorrow.”

“Really? Shouldn’t we wait and ask Derek?”

Peter just rolls his eyes and mumbles something about Lois Lane. “It will be fine Stiles, if you ask Derek will go along.”

“Can I ask you about that? Because I’m confused. He’s the alpha, so why would you assume he’ll just go along with me? I mean, obviously I think my ideas are awesome and should be followed at all times, but in reality that is not how this goes. And I mean, he must know that I have forgiven everyone for all that other stuff. I mean, I just feel like I’m somehow taking advantage of that. I don’t want Derek to feel guilty and keep doing what I want.”

“Stiles, I can promise you that feelings of guilt have almost nothing to do with it. He’s the alpha, so there’s a strong instinct to provide and protect. But with you specifically it has to do with the type of bond you have with Derek. Once he got over his Kate Argent freak out, he realized pretty quickly that you will be very important to our pack and can be trusted.”

“Because of the Alpha-Spark bond thing Deaton mentioned?”

Peter is all out smirking. “Yes, very much because of that.”

“Okay, I’ll try not to take advantage of it. I’m going to have to look up more about that because it still doesn’t make much sense to me.”

“It will, Stiles. I promise.”

  


***************

  


As predicted by Peter, Derek was totally on board with the newly instituted Pack Movie Night! Stiles went over to the loft at 8pm on Saturday and enjoyed the new sights. In addition to the original couch, there was a new oversized chair, a nice new reclining chair, and a bunch of floor cushions and blankets, which were painstakingly selected by Lydia to get the perfect fabrics and colors. Stiles is still a little traumatized.

He walks over to the kitchen area with his grocery bags and starts unloading. He’s got chips and salsa, a variety of sliced cheeses, meats, and crackers. But since this is a movie night, he’s got to start the popcorn. He refuses to use the microwave bags because of all the chemicals, and digs through the cabinets to find the best option to pop the corn on the stovetop. He drops a few tablespoons of oil in the pot and starts to heat it up while he measures the corn kernels. He also gets out a stick of butter to melt in a small sauce pan. Once the oil is hot, he adds in the corn and watches eagerly for it to start popping. He loves making popcorn. He was so focused that he didn’t notice he had company in the kitchen before a warm wall of muscle was draped over his back to peak at the stove with him.

Stiles has a strong startle reflex, so he almost knocked the pot over with awkward flailing. Thankfully, Derek’s werewolf reflexes trump his spazziness and the popcorn was saved. Derek is resting his chin on Stiles’ shoulder and is standing so close that Stiles feels a little light-headed. Also, the fucking Adonis must have just finished a shower because his skin and hair are just a little damp and he smells glorious. “Are you making popcorn on the stove?”

Derek’s breath ghosts over the side of Stiles face and he is insanely proud of himself for not whimpering. He’s thinking about calculous and anything that might take his mind off the incredibly gorgeous creature currently draped over his back. “Um, yeah.” He clears his throat, oh my god this is horrible. “Yeah, it’s better for you than the microwaved stuff and super easy. I figured we’d need a lot.”

Derek hums in agreement, gives Stiles waist a slight squeeze and then moves away toward the refrigerator to grab a drink. Thank god, he loves how tactile and openly affectionate the werewolves are and is still getting used to it. But why do they have to be so flipping attractive? His poor virgin heart needs to get a grip.

While he’s fussing in the kitchen, everyone else starts to arrive. Lydia brings her brownies again, yay! Boyd and Erica have drinks, and Kira and Scott brought a boat load of candy. This is going to be awesome!

Stiles balances several bowls of popcorn in his long arms and carts them over to the living area. He sets them down on the new coffee table (yay!), and takes stock of where everyone is settled. Erica, Boyd, Scott and Kira have created a snuggly nest on the floor with a bunch of the blankets and pillows. My god, it’s adorable. Jackson and Lydia look comfy in the oversized chair with a soft grey chenille blanket draped over them. Peter has claimed the leather reclining chair, leaving Derek and Isaac (and now Stiles) on the couch. Derek and Isaac have claimed each end of the couch and he’s a little bummed because that means he can’t lean on an arm rest. Okay, time to improvise. He grabs a throw pillow and sits in the middle of the couch, then places it between him and Derek. Perfect! He leans over onto the pillow, basically horizontal and claiming the bulk of the couch, and makes himself comfy. He even has his toes tucked just under Isaac’s legs. A little too late he realizes this might have been a bit presumptuous and looks up at Derek. “Is this okay? I just sort of made myself at home.”

Derek gives him the softest smile he has ever seen come from that hard, handsome face. “You’re pack Stiles, I want you to be comfortable. This is fine.”

Stiles can’t help the radiant smile in return, absolutely loving the sound of being pack.

Stiles ends up hugging the pillow, which places one of his arms under it and directly against Derek’s thigh. The heat from the wolf is soothing, and as he starts to drift to sleep (how they agreed to Lydia’s request to watch The Notebook, he will never understand), he feels rough fingers slowly carding through his hair.

  


  



	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More fluff and feels, because darn it, these boys deserve it.

Derek drives over to Stiles house to go on their first hike around the Preserve. As Stiles walks toward the Camaro he flashes back to the last time he was in this car. He laughs awkwardly as he gets in. “Ha, this is my first time in this car not under the influence of drugs or blood loss.” Oh my god, stop reminding him about the inappropriate groping. Derek just smirks at him.

They pull onto an access road Stiles has not noticed before that leads into the woods, and eventually park in a cleared space just large enough for one car. Stiles grabs his backpack that is filled with everything he will need to start warding and protecting the Hale territory.

Stiles follows Derek into the woods, who clearly knows exactly where he’s going. He gently picks on Stiles for going so slow, but he’s very patient as they continue on.

Stiles finds a tree right on the border that just feels right for this first attempt at a protection rune. He’s a little nervous doing this in front of Derek, just in case he does it wrong, but Derek seems patient and content to wait while he does his thing. Stiles gets the symbols painted onto the tree and then focuses with his hand at the base of the trunk, determined to activate the rune and to protect his pack.

Even with his eyes closed he can feel when the protection takes hold, like a warm glow shines from his chest. He opens his eyes and can see it is indeed activated and looks up at Derek in excitement. His breath catches because Derek is looking at him with singular focus. His nostrils are flared as he breaths in and just stares at Stiles. It’s impossible to understand the expression, but Stiles blushes. Of course he does. Okay, regroup.  
“So, yeah, it worked! Um, ready to show me the way to the next spot?”

Derek smiles and sort of grumbles, then he grabs Stiles hand to help him up. “Thank you, Stiles. It means a lot that you’re using your spark to protect our pack.”

Stiles smiles and bumps his shoulder into Derek and gives his hand, which Derek was still holding, an extra squeeze before letting go.

They spend a few hours walking the border of the Hale territory and Stiles is fascinated by how Derek intuitively knows the border without any obvious markers. He’s fascinated, that is, in the rare moments when he isn’t massively distracted by Derek’s ass in the tight jeans, or his arms that are stretching the fabric of his white t-shirt. It’s impossibly hot. Stiles thinks Derek looks even better than usual today, like his hair is really styled perfectly and how amazingly his clothes hug his body.

To combat this, Stiles produces his usual verbal vomit, can’t shut up actually, just prattles on as he and Derek continue to work through this grid. Shockingly, Derek doesn’t seem to mind. He smirks and rolls his eyes, but Stiles gets a feeling it’s almost affectionate, like he finds Stiles endearing. No one ever finds Stiles endearing, aside from maybe his Dad, and Scott.

Once they start wandering back toward the car, Derek points out the plants they pass by as they walk, ones that Stiles heard about from Deaton during Hogwarts Home School. Derek points out a patch of comfrey which stiles gathers for its healing properties, and hyssop for protection.

“My Mom, Talia, was our Alpha. She made sure we all knew about the local plants; which were safe, which were not, what effect they could have on us. I know you’re learning about them with Deaton, but if you need help finding any or have other questions, I’m happy to help.”

Stiles is pretty sure that Derek doesn’t talk about his family much and feels how important it is that Derek has offered this to him. “Thanks. Maybe the next time we come out to do another grid you can help me gather some more?”

Derek smiles at him. “Definitely.”

*****************

Aside from supernatural activities and trying to find the creature killing students in the woods, most of the pack are working on college applications. Scott and Isaac are still unsure about whether they want to focus on a trade versus college, but everyone else plans on going to a 4-year school. Lydia is applying to Stanford and Cal Tech; Stiles applied to Stanford and Berkeley, but also decides to add to Beacon Hills University to his list. He’s really not sure that he wants to be hours away from his Dad, and now, well, some other people, too. Plus, Deaton is an adjunct faculty in the BHU veterinary sciences department and Stiles has spoken with him about continuing his training while in college. He knows that he has the grades to go to a top university, but now that he’s part of the pack and is more and more convinced that he would like to end up staying in Beacon Hills as the new Pack Emissary, the need for a flashy and fancy degree doesn’t seem as important to him.

At the pack “fun” night the week before Christmas, they are all engrossed in discussions about how they will stay bonded while living at different places.

Since Stiles started organizing the “fun” nights he can see how close everyone has gotten. They were close before, but everyone is a little easier with one another now, just a subtle qualitative difference in their interactions that makes him feel good, like he made a small difference in the pack. He thinks this may be why no one is even considering applying to a school that isn’t within a three-hour drive.

He also smiles to himself because he notices that the pack have developed assigned seats, sort of. Lydia and Jackson always claim the oversized chair, Kira, Scott, Boyd and Erica always snuggle down in a nest on the ground, and Stiles, Isaac and Derek always end up on the couch. Stiles is currently snuggled on his side, taking up two thirds of the couch, his feet pressed against Isaac’s leg on the other side of the couch while Derek is fussing in the kitchen.

Derek wanders back with drinks and after setting them on the coffee table, he reaches an arm behind Stiles and pulls him up to a nearly seated position. Derek takes the spot where Stiles had just been resting his head, and settles Stiles back down so that he is now resting his head in Derek’s lap. Fuck, this is platonic snuggles, Stiles. PLATONIC. Focus, don’t gross them out with arousal, think of the embarrassment.

With some focus he calms down and is able to enjoy cuddles with his alpha. Eventually he worms an arm behind Derek’s back like he’s hugging a muscular pillow and drapes his other arm over Derek’s lap and sighs. So warm and comfy. One of Derek’s hands covers Stiles wrist draped on his lap, the other does that amazing scratching against Stiles’ scalp. Fuck, it’s so relaxing.

Derek jumps into the discussion about keeping the pack close while in college. “Okay, okay, you all need to stop worrying. Werewolves go to college all the time. I’ll arrange transportation, whether it’s train tickets, flights, or rental cars and gas money. We will have at least one weekend a month where you can all come back here and spend time as pack. I’ll also go to each of your new places when you move in to make it smell like pack and feel safe.” Stiles can practically feel the relief among the other wolves at this. Derek really is a good Alpha. And Derek’s plan gives him another idea.

“Hey Der?” Shit, did I just call him Der? Just keep going. Stiles looks up at him before continuing. “If we’re all going to be camping here for a weekend a month, what do you think about renovating space in the lower floors of the building? That way we can each have rooms when we visit, but we are all still be close to each other.”

Derek gives him a surprised smile and nods. “Sounds like a great pack project, and practical. Excellent idea.”

After everyone has calmed down, the pack move onto the holiday portion of the night. Stiles is trying to focus as his friends pass out and open presents, but Derek’s hand has wandered from making those comforting drags against his head to dragging just a single finger up and down the side of his neck. It’s so gentle and so sensitive, he’s oddly relaxed and on edge at the same time. Then Derek’s hand wanders more and starts doing the same thing on a patch of skin just above his hip where his shirt has scrunched up above his jeans. Derek’s smiling at the pack as they tear into their presents and doesn’t even seem to be aware of what he’s doing to Stiles. Both Stiles and Derek have piles of presents to open, but neither seems to be in a rush. Stiles thinks he’ll save his until Christmas morning, anyway.

Stiles got something for everyone in the pack and smiles as they open his presents. Most of them weren’t too hard to shop for:

  * Peter: His favorite cologne, apparently werewolf sniffer approved
  * Scott: New video game
  * Kira: fancy new blade sharpener
  * Isaac: scarves
  * Lydia: Gift card, he’s not stupid
  * Jackson: Special kit to clean his Porsche, guaranteed to get blood and all other fluids clean
  * Boyd: Gift card for the hockey supply store, since the guy seriously loves to play
  * Erica: A few Catwoman comics



Of course he got something for Derek, too. He’s just waiting until most of the pack clear out before giving it to him. That is not a problem, because he must have fallen asleep and missed most of them leave the loft. Derek is rubbing a thumb on his cheek, saying his name quietly to wake him up.

“Sorry dude, I was just so comfortable. Totally didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

Derek just laughs quietly. Stiles looks around and sees Peter and Isaac are in the kitchen cleaning up, and decides to grab his gifts for Derek. He sits up and leans over to grab his backpack.

“Stiles, Merry Christmas.”

Stiles looks over and sees that Derek is handing him a small package. “Do you want me to open this now?”

Derek smiles and nods, so Stiles opens the gift. It’s an old, fragile looking book that smells a little smoky. He can see faint drawings of plants on the cover and when he opens it he notices that a name is written on the top of the title page. It says, “Property of Talia Hale”. Stiles pulls in a quick breath and looks at Derek.

“It belonged to my mom, it’s documentation of all the plants like I was telling you about. She made all sorts of notes in the margins about them, and I thought you might like it.”

Stiles tries not to get too emotional. “Derek, this is incredible. I can’t believe you would trust me with this. I’ll be so careful with it and make sure it stays safe with the rest of the archive.”

“Stiles, this is yours to keep. You can store it here if you like, but you can also take it home with you. It’s yours.”

Stiles looks at Derek and has to cover his mouth with his hand, fighting with how moved he is that Derek would actually give him one of the few things that remains of his mother. When he thinks he can speak, he thanks him. He shakes his head and tries to get control of his emotions to give Derek his gifts.

“Okay almighty Alpha, I’ve got gifts for you too!”

“Stiles, you really don’t need to. The work you’ve been doing to protect the pack is more than enough.”

“Derek, giving gifts should never be about need or just for the sake of reciprocity. It should be because the gift giver _wants_ to give something. And I do. So here, present number one. It’s to help make your loft feel homey, part of my new mission in life.”

He hands Derek a small planter with a variety of succulents, which was tricky to keep in his backpack without hurting the plants. “You’ll need to water them about once a week, but they’re hardy and should live a long life.” Derek smiles at him. “Thanks, Stiles. I’ll do my best not to kill them.”

They both laugh, but Stiles gets nervous as he grabs the other wrapped gift. It was a somewhat impulsive decision, but it felt right at the time. Ss he passes it over to Derek he’s super anxious he may have overstepped. He found a family photo of the old Hale Pack tucked into one of the books from the archive a week ago and thought that getting it cleaned and framed might be something Derek would appreciate. He hasn’t seen any pictures of the Hale family, assuming most were lost in the fire. He holds his breath as Derek opens it.

Once the paper is removed and Derek opens the small gift box, he just looks into it for a long time. Stiles feels more and more worried at the lack of reaction. He really likes having pictures of his mother around to keep her memory alive, but maybe this will just be painful for Derek.

After a few more uncomfortable moments, Derek’s eyes blaze toward Stiles. Without saying anything, Derek storms up the stairs and into his room, the frame in hand. The bedroom door closes loudly, not quite a slam, but close.

Stiles is a little stunned and his head drops down as he tries not to cry. Clearly he’s hurt Derek, which was the opposite of what he was trying to do. Then he feels a soft hand on his shoulder and looks up to see Peter smiling at him sadly. “Don’t worry Stiles, he is fine. Emotions are hard for him. Just give him a little time, okay?” Stiles nods, swallowing down emotions he can’t even name. Peter squeezes his shoulder one more time then walks back to the kitchen to help Isaac. Stiles sighs, gathers his unopened presents into his bag, and heads home.

*************

On Christmas day, he and his dad have a quiet and relaxing morning opening presents, then they have dinner with Scott and his mom. Stiles baked several pies, some of his mom’s favorite recipes, and everyone enjoyed them which makes him happy.

When they get home later that night, he is full and sleepy. He says goodnight to his father then plans to watch some Netflix and go to bed early. He wanders into this room, only to find a sexy Alpha waiting for him. They haven’t spoken since Derek got his gift, and Stiles is nervous but happy to see him.

“Hey Sourwolf, Merry Christmas.”

Derek is sitting on his bed for once, not on the desk chair. Stiles walks over toward him and leans against his bedside table, but leaves enough space so as not to make Derek uncomfortable. “Merry Christmas, Stiles.”

They hold eye contact for a long moment, Stiles content for once to stay quiet and let Derek find his words. “I’m sorry for how I reacted when you gave me your Christmas gift.” Derek looks down at his lap, his shoulders tight with tension.

Without thinking Stiles reaches over grabs his shoulder. “Derek, no. Please don’t apologize. It was probably totally inappropriate for me to do that, it’s such a sensitive topic. I just thought you might like seeing the picture once in a while, but really, we don’t have to talk about it. I totally understand.”

Derek looks at him with a question on his face, so Stiles tries to explain. “After losing my mom, it was really hard to be surrounded by things that reminded me of her. But eventually I got to a point where I really liked seeing her picture; it’s like how I love to make her recipes now. It just helps me feel connected to her. I thought that maybe you might like that too. I found the picture in one of the books you let me read and I just got carried away. If it was over the line I’m really, really sorry.” Stiles squeezes his long fingers on Derek’s shoulder to emphasize how sorry he is.

Derek’s eyes are now a bit glassy and Stiles is horrified that he made the Alpha cry. Then without any other warning he finds his face smushed into Derek’s chest as he is hugged tightly. He basically falls onto Derek’s lap with the force of the hug. Derek’s face is buried in Stiles’ neck and the wolf is almost panting as his strong arms band around Stiles’ back to hold him tightly. Stiles manages to worm his arms around Derek’s back to hug him right back, rubbing his hands in circles to try to sooth him.

Derek doesn’t say anything, just continues to hold onto Stiles. Eventually he feels Derek running his nose up and down the side of his neck, his warm exhales sending tingles throughout Stiles’ body. Oh shit, do not make this awkward. Derek does not need to smell your horribly timed awkward boner.

Thankfully, Derek doesn’t seem to react to Stiles current situation, just pulls back a bit and rests their foreheads together, Derek’s eyes are closed and it looks like he’s trying to get his emotions under control.

Finally Derek speaks, it’s shaky and breathy. “Thank you. I can’t. Just. Thank you, Stiles.”

Stiles warps his hand around Derek’s neck and squeezes, having read that this can be grounding for wolves, and knowing it works for him when Derek does it. Derek’s shoulders relax at the contact. “Derek, you saved my life, you made me pack. Sure, I thought you were a crazy cult leader for a while, but I should be thanking you.”

Derek snorts and Stiles is grateful that the heavy tension has been broken.

“Well, I’m beat from too much food. I was going to watch something on Netflix then go to sleep. Did you want to watch something with me?”

Stiles can’t explain it, but he just didn’t want to let Derek leave yet, wants to make sure that the man is more settled. Plus, I mean, it’s Derek freaking Hale. Any time with him is okay with Stiles.

Derek smiles, kicks his shoes off and gets comfy on Stiles’ bed. They end up watching old episodes of Schitt’s Creek, one of Stiles favorites and something Derek hadn’t seen before. They both laugh tiredly, and at some point Stiles must have fallen asleep. He wakes up in the morning tucked into bed, his laptop closed and on his desk, and no sign of Derek. He smiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Schitt's Creek is the BEST. If you don't stan David and Patrick, we can't be friends.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, Lydia. Thank you.

Stiles loves being part of the pack, he really does. But seriously, this pack meeting is _awful_. They’re not making any headway on solving the murders and Derek is pissed. He’s absolutely frustrated as he paces in the loft, struggling with himself to not shout and take it out on everyone else. “What else are we supposed to do? I’d love some new ideas, anything. Knowing that something is out there and I can’t find it is making me crazy. And it’s been weeks since the last murders, so it’s probably going to happen again soon. Fuck!” Okay, he might have screamed that last bit, but Stiles won’t begrudge him for a little venting.

Parish snarks right back at him. “If you weren’t so fucking distracted then maybe we would have made more progress.“

The betas go silent, eyes huge. Peter looks at Parish, sad and resigned. Derek, however, looks absolutely furious.

“Jordan, if you can’t get over your shit you can get the fuck out of here. You know that we are all working our asses off, at times putting ourselves at risk to find whatever this thing is.”

The Sheriff, attending his first official pack meeting, walks over to try to calm everyone down. He puts his hand on his deputy’s shoulder. “Parish, you know that everyone in this room is working as hard as they can. Come on son, we’re all stressed but fighting among ourselves will not help anything.”

Parish bristles and shakes off his hand. “You’re my boss and I respect you, but I’m not your son.” Then Parish throws a murderous glare at Stiles and stomps out.

Stiles then looks at his Dad, then Derek, then the betas. “What the fuck did I do? Did you all see that? I get why he’s irrationally pissed at Derek, it can’t be easy getting over Derek freaking Hale, but what the hell did I do to him?”

Jackson mutters to himself, “Genius IQ and such an idiot.”

Derek glares at Jackson. “Jackson cut it out.” Jackson smirks but keeps his mouth shut. “Sheriff I’m sorry that something personal is getting in the way of all of this. I take full responsibility.”

Stiles can’t handle Derek heaping more guilt on himself. He grabs his hand to get his attention. “Derek, no. Just stop. None of this is your fault. You know you are doing everything we can think of. You are not the one out there doing those horrible things.” Stiles places Derek’s hand over his heart to make his point crystal clear. “Listen to me, am I lying?”

Derek’s face softens a bit and he smiles at Stiles for the effort. Then Derek pulls his hand back and looks back at his Dad.

The Sheriff gives Derek a long look, then a slightly shorter one to Stiles before looking back at Derek with his eyebrows slightly elevated. Like he knows something. Stiles is pretty sure that Derek is blushing again, but he’ll be damned if he knows why. Finally, his Dad responds. “It’s okay Derek. Let’s just try to focus.”

Stiles decides he doesn’t like whatever their silent conversation is saying and decides to take control. “So, on that note, I just wanted to let you know that I’m about halfway through reading the Hale Bestiary. So far I haven’t found an entry that fits the murder scenes, but I’m hoping that I’ll come across something soon. I’ve been looking for anything related to iron, the consuming or taking of organs, favoring the woods, and young adult/child victims. Is there anything else I should focus on as I keep reading?”

Stiles sees that almost everyone in the room is smiling at him. Derek is the one to reply. “The only other thing I would add is the ability to mask its smell, at least to wolves and kitsune.”

Stiles nods and makes a note of it on the document he’s keeping on his laptop.

His Dad clears his throat. “We also noticed that the most recent victims were more thoroughly eaten, assuming the missing flesh and organs are being consumed.”

Stiles hums at that horrible detail and makes note of it.

Lydia is the next to speak, and she sounds upset. “I’m sorry. Derek, I wish I was able to get a better handle on this. Maybe if I could, I’d be able to figure out who the targets are before they are actually killed. I’ve been meeting with Deaton to try to get my powers better controlled, but it’s very slow going. I feel like I’m letting everyone down and I hate that.”

Jackson pulls Lydia into a tight hug and Derek walks over and settles his large hand on the side of her face. “Lydia, look at me.” She sniffles but does as he asks. “You are _not_ to blame. Learning to control banshee powers is extremely difficult. You’ve made so much progress already, do not ever worry that you are letting us down. Okay?”

She nods, then snuggles into Jackson even more.

At the end of the night, they decide to continue on with what they’re doing. It’s the best they have until something happens or they have more information, unfortunately.

************

“Lydia, I really don’t think those fit me. I haven’t worn those pants in over a year, I’ll barely be able to zip them up.” The looks she gives him suggests that he shut up and get dressed already.

“Are you going to turn around at least?” She just smirks at him then starts pulling something out of her ginormous purse.

He’s able to get the pants on, but they are definitely more snug around his ass than he is used to. “Um, yeah, these really don’t fit. They are definitely too tight.”

She turns back and looks at him carefully. “Turn around.” She actually has the gall to wave her hand at him.

“Is this reverse-gender payback or something? Alright, alright!” Jesus, he’s turning, her angry look is not worth the effort. By the time he’s made a full circle and feels like a complete ass, she’s smirking. Then she tosses a shirt at him. It’s a deep green color and looks like a normal Henley. “This?” She smiles and nods. “No undershirt or stupid flannel going over it though.”

He grumbles as he strips out of his layers and pulls the new shirt on. The material feels really nice, but it’s also snug, he’s not used to wearing clothes that fit so closely.

“Turn one more time for me.”

Rolling his eyes, he does another spin around, praying they are almost done.

“Absolutely perfect. Your ass looks hot in those pants, and the color of the top makes your skin look gorgeous. Plus, it makes your shoulders look really broad. Let me fix your hair and you’ll be ready. He won’t be able to resist you.”

“Lyds, I love that you’re making me all pretty for my imaginary boyfriend, but honestly. Is this really necessary?”  
She’s got a small jar or something that she is slathering into her fingers and just motions him over. And so he goes, unable to resist her. He’s trying to remember why he agreed to a night at a club for their weekly pack fun night. Oh yeah, because Erica and Lydia steamrolled them all, arguing it was something fun since school was on break for the holidays.

Lydia heads out to get herself ready and tells Stiles she’ll be back in 2 hours to pick him up, threatening his life if he messes up his outfit or hair.

Stiles snorts with laughter as he closes the front door after her when he spots his Dad looking at him from the couch in the living room. “What?”

“You look good, you look so grown up. Took me by surprise.”

Stiles smiles and feels a little embarrassed. “Dad, don’t mess with my head. Besides, Lydia is an evil genius, I could never pull out this look on my own.”

His Dad laughs and pats the space next to him on the couch, so Stiles walks over and is happy to discover he’s able to sit in these pants and still breath.

“So, remind me where you’re going tonight and with who?”

“It’s just another pack night, we’re going to that club, The Jungle.”

“Will the entire pack be there?”

“I mean, I’m not sure? I sort of doubt Peter will go, but who knows. I think everyone else will.” And now Stiles is picturing Derek at the club, being hit on by every person who lays eyes on him. Fuck. This night is going to suck.

“I’m assuming that there will be no drinking, right?”

With the exasperated voice only a teenager can manage with their parent, Stiles responds. “No Dad, oh my god. Anyone underage gets a wrist band and they won’t serve us alcohol. It’s not like the wolves can get drunk, anyway. Relax. And yes, I know I can call you for a ride no matter what. Okay?”  
His Dad smiles, then gets a weird gleam in his eye. “Tell me son, who are you trying to impress with this outfit? Have you got your eye on someone in particular?”

Stiles blushes, damn his fair skin. “Dad! No, we’re not talking about this. Stop messing with me. Not cool.”

His Dad just laughs and turns on the baseball game, which is perfect because now Stiles can relax a bit until he gets picked up.

**************

Stiles gets a ride with Lydia and Jackson in the Porsche, it’s a tight squeeze, but then again, so are his pants.

When they arrive at the club the music is loud and pulsing, and the colored flashing lights take some getting used to. This must be crazy with werewolf senses! They see Derek sitting at a booth with a drink by himself, Scott and Kira and Boyd and Erica are on the dance floor, and Isaac is at the bar chatting with a cute brunette. Stiles slides into the booth next to Derek, Jackson and Lydia sit opposite them.

Stiles is a little shocked that there wasn’t a horde of fans surrounding the Alpha. “How is it possible you are sitting here all by yourself? I refuse to believe that no one at this club has hit on you or asked you to dance yet.” Derek just grunts and smiles at Stiles.

“Not really into dancing, but I wanted to make sure you are all okay while you’re here.”

“Well, if you keep hiding in the booth at least the rest of us mortals have a chance, because you look good dude, seriously. It’s like your trying to make every person in here pale in comparison!” Derek makes simple and effortless look hot. Just a snug white t-shirt, v neck showing a hint of chest hair and his sexy as fuck collarbones, sleeves straining under the pull of his biceps, and his chest pushing against the fabric. Stiles is fucked.

Derek looks a little constipated at that and Stiles guesses he just isn’t good at taking compliments. Silly wolf.

Isaac arrives at the table with drinks for everyone, all virgin since the wolves can’t get drunk anyway and most are underage. Stiles is worried he made Derek uncomfortable with his awkward complimenting, so he drags Isaac with him to the dance floor and proceeds to get lost in the beat.

Stiles knows he is not a great dancer, but damn he loves to dance. He closes his eyes and just enjoys how his body moves to the music. After a few minutes, Isaac starts dancing with the hot brunette he was talking to earlier and Stiles gives him a huge thumbs up. Isaac deserves all the nice things.

Then he feels hands grab his hips and is pulled back against what is clearly a man. He turns his head and sees it’s a cute blond guy who is smiling at him. Stiles loves dancing with people, so he is more than happy to go along with his new partner. After the first song, there is definite grinding happening, and Stiles is starting to get a little turned on. He realizes that he and blond guy, no idea what his name is, are dancing at the edge of the dance floor, and when Stiles looks up he makes direct eye contact with Derek.

Immediately his low-grade arousal ramps up to dangerous levels. Derek looks intense, his eyes running up and down Stiles body. Stiles thinks his eyes may be showing hints of red. Then blond guy turns Stiles around so that they are facing each other, putting Stiles’ back to Derek. Blond guy’s hands reach around to his back while Stiles arms wind up around his neck. It’s a little shameful, but Stiles is more aroused thinking about the possibility of Derek watching him than anything blond guy is doing. He finds himself gyrating his hips, hoping it looks hot.

In moments there is a hard, hot presence at his back. Stiles looks at blond guy who is staring over his shoulder, slack jawed. That’s an “I’ve seen the face of heaven for the first time, AKA Derek Hale’s face” look. He can’t blame him, it’s a goddam stunner of a face. Which is now slightly buried in the back of Stiles’ neck, and Stiles feels hot, strong arms start to streak up his stomach and land on his chest, pulling him back even more against Derek’s chest and away from blond guy. Stiles brain has basically checked out and he shamelessly rubs his ass against Derek’s pelvis, stretching his neck as far as he can to give Derek better access. Derek said he didn’t dance, but Stiles can feel the Alpha’s hips moving against his ass.

Stiles hands at some point dropped from blond guy’s shoulders and are now gripping Derek’s hips behind him, trying to pull him in closer, getting him to rub and rut into Stiles’ ass. Derek now has one arm reaching up over Stiles’ chest to hold his neck in a titled position, giving Derek even more space to bury his scruffy face. Blond guy’s hands have fallen away from Stiles’ hips and he looks absolutely transfixed on the tableau before him. Stiles vaguely notices Lydia grabbing blond guy’s hand and pulling him away, but honestly, he’s so focused on the Alpha at his back that he doesn’t pay close attention. Derek is trailing wet, open mouthed kisses up and down Stiles neck and his hips are moving against his ass in ways that leave very little to the imagination. “Fuck Stiles, you always smell so good. And your ass in these jeans. Fucking cock tease.”

Stiles shivers in Derek’s arms, not sure if he’s ever felt so aroused and wanted in his life. No, actually, he’s sure he hasn’t. If Derek Hale is also a dirty talker his poor heart will burst. He needs more, needs to see Derek. Stiles spins around as gracefully as he can, and wraps his arms around Derek’s neck as Derek moves his arms low, his strong fingers digging into Stiles’ lower back as he pulls their hips close together. They are of a similar height, Derek has maybe two inches on Stiles, so they are practically breathing into each other’s mouths as they stare.

Derek breaks first. “Tell me you want this. If not, I think I can let you go, leave right now.”

In answer, Stiles dives in and within moments has his tongue rubbing against Derek’s, hands fisted in Derek’s hair. Derek makes a filthy noise that most people won’t hear over the beat of the music. Stiles feels it reverberate through him more than he actually hears it, and Derek’s hands fall down from Stiles’ back to grab his ass. And fuck, he squeezes Stiles cheeks, and it aches in the best way. Derek pulls Stiles even closer friction and pressure is everything and also not enough. Stiles drags his fingers through Derek’s hair, dragging along his scalp and Derek growls into his mouth.

Stiles can sense they are moving, but he doesn’t really pay attention or focus on where they are going, his trust in Derek is absolute. Suddenly his back is up against a wall and he rips his face away from Derek’s mouth. He drags in a huge breath and quickly glances to see where they are, which is against a wall in a darkish corner of the club. Fuck. Derek moves back to his neck and Stiles knows that he’s going to have all sorts of marks from this. “Fuck Derek, I can’t believe this is happening. I want you so much.” Stiles can feel Derek smiling into his neck and feels Derek’s hands run up his sides under his shirt, bumping over ribs, his thumbs reaching to just graze Stiles’ nipples. Stiles is so overwhelmed, to go from zero sexual experience aside from solo time, to this. He can’t stop his mouth from running.

“Fuck, Derek.” Stiles closes his eyes and throws his head back to rest against the wall, awash in sensation. Derek is driving him crazy with his hands, while at the same time he is grinding again and again against his now rock-hard cock. Stiles is worried that he is precariously close to coming in his pants like the teenager he is. “Yes, Alpha.” Stiles doesn’t know where that came from, but it clearly hit one of Derek’s buttons. Derek’s hands streak down Stiles body and reach behind him to grab his ass, and with his superior werewolf strength Stiles is suddenly lifted off the ground and he instinctively wraps his legs around Derek. This is not easy given how tight his fucking pants are. Derek holds Stiles up like he weighs nothing. From this angle Stiles is now slightly taller than Derek and he stares down into glowing red eyes, lost in a haze of lust.

“I’ve been trying to fight this Stiles, how badly I want you. Try to give you time. I just can’t anymore.”

Stiles actually wines at that, because not only is Derek sexually arousing him to heights never before experienced, but now he’s pulling on his damn emotions as well. “Fuck, Derek. I’m yours if you want me. For as long as you want me. Please.” Then Stiles dives down and is kissing Derek with everything he has. The wolf holds him steady as the two of them continue to grind against one another, Stiles back plastered against the wall, Derek’s hands gripping his ass tightly as he holds him up.

Stiles isn’t sure how long they are in this position, but it’s by far the best moments of his 18 years of life so far. Then Derek starts growling, and it sounds angry than sexy. Stiles tries to focus and looks over Derek’s shoulder to see Boyd. Boyd isn’t too close, but closer than anyone else and it looks like he’s talking. Derek lets Stiles legs drop to the ground, but continues to support him, thank god, as Stiles has lost all feeling and power to support himself at the moment. Derek nuzzles his face into Stiles’ neck and moves like he’s trying to keep Boyd from seeing him.

Finally Stiles can pick out Boyd’s calm voice. “Derek, it’s okay. No one is taking Stiles away from you. We just need you to calm down a little so you don’t try to claim him here in front of the entire club.” Boyd, the most chill dude Stiles has ever met in real life, is now fighting off a smile. Meanwhile Derek rests his forehead against Stiles’ shoulder, panting like he just ran a marathon. Stiles tilts his cheek to rest against Derek’s ear and rubs his back under the white shirt. “Der, are you okay big guy?”

Derek visibly relaxes under Stiles soothing touch and voice. “Yeah, yeah I’m okay. Fuck, Stiles are you alright? I got completely carried away.” Derek looks at Stiles, his eyes still dazed and absolutely gorgeous. Stiles gives him a big, sweet smile.

“I’m fine. In fact, I don’t remember ever feeling better or happier. God, I feel sort of sappy and emotional to be honest, I just am having trouble believing that you are actually interested in a spastic asshole like me.”

Stiles gives a nervous laugh, but Derek apparently sees through it and leans down for a gentle kiss. “Stiles, you are spastic and are sometimes an asshole, but you are a lot more than that. Especially to me. Come on, I think I’ve calmed down enough to walk through the rest of the club without completely embarrassing myself.” Stiles smirks then looks blatantly down at his still painfully hard dick smashed into his skinny jeans. “Speak for yourself, Sexywolf.”

Derek just laughs, grabs Stiles hand, and starts to lead them through the club to meet up with the rest of the betas. Derek stands behind Stiles, draping himself over the Spark, nuzzling his neck and holding him tightly. There are the requisite jokes and teasing from the pack, but Stiles doesn’t mind. Lydia smirks at them and Stiles has a feeling that this may have been her end goal all along.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stiles has some insecurities to work through, the Sheriff is hilarious, we have a smidge of plot development, but really, this got way more porny than I planned. And here we are. Skip the end if smut is not your thing!
> 
> Thanks again for all the awesome comments, they are fantastic, make me smile and laugh, and have basically kept me going. Hugs.

Derek insists on driving Stiles home from the club.

As much as Stiles enjoyed everything that just happened, he can’t help the insecurities that bubble up into his head.

Derek must have noticed his anxiety and grabs his hand. “Stiles, are you okay?”

Knowing he can’t lie and just say yes, Stiles tries to figure out what to say. “Well, I guess it’s just that now that we have both calmed down, I’m just wondering what all this means. I mean, I feel like you don’t want this to just be some isolated thing, right? But I’m having trouble believing you really want me. That you want what I want?”

“What do you want us to be?”

Stiles groans and shuts his eyes, mainly in embarrassment. “Dude, can you please tell me what you want? I don’t want to answer and completely embarrass myself because I’m pretty sure I’m more into this than you are.”

Stiles looks over at Derek through the fingers currently hiding his face and sees that the wolf is smirking. Fucking great, he’s laughing at him. “Look Derek this is hard for me, okay? I’m not exactly experienced and admitting how much I like you was hard. Don’t fucking laugh at me. How could someone like you could say no to Jordan but yes to me? It makes no sense.”

Feeling more than a little hurt Stiles turns his head away to look out the window. That’s when he notices that the car has slowed down and pulls to a stop on the side of the road.

“Stiles look at me.” After taking a moment to compose himself, Stiles turns and looks at Derek whose expression is now serious, no longer mocking. “Stiles, I was fucking ready to take you there, in that club, in front of absolute strangers. It’s a miracle that I didn’t wolf out and announce “werewolves exist” to the rest of the town while I was at it. _That_ is what you do to me. I seem to lose all reason around you. Why do you think I was such an asshole to you at first? I was terrified by how drawn to you I was, and I tried to push you away. Why do you think Peter makes all those sly remarks? It’s to mess with me because he can tell exactly how important you are to me. I wasn’t smirking to make fun of you, I was smirking because I am 100% sure that your attraction to me doesn’t even come close to all that I feel for you.”

Stiles lets out a whoosh of breath, completely overwhelmed with _everything_ Derek. Feeling calmer now and a little bold, he reaches and grabs Derek’s hand. “Derek, what I feel is not just attraction. I mean, fuck, there’s a _lot_ of attraction, I mean look at you, seriously. But you’ve saved my life, my Spark literally chose you to save me. And when you touch me, I feel calmer somehow, safer I guess. Maybe it’s the Alpha thing? I don’t really know. But I can see how much you care about the pack, and how you are exhausting yourself to catch whatever is hunting innocent kids. I’m totally inexperienced here, but I guess I’m saying that you might be surprised by how much I feel for you beyond just your radioactive hotness.” Stiles gives him a wide but genuine smile.

“Okay then, what do you want to be, Stiles? Do you need something to call us? Boyfriends? Being completely honest, I want you to be my mate, but that’s a lifetime commitment and I’m doing everything in my power to prove to you I am worthy of it, to give you a chance to decide if that is what you want.”

Whoa. Deep breaths. “Boyfriends would be good, for now. And being honest with you, I really like the sound of mates. You’ll have to explain that to me soon, what it means to you, more than what I’ve read in the books.”

Derek squeezes his hand, “Boyfriends it is. For now.”

Derek pulls into the Stilinski driveway and gets out to walk Stiles to the door. They share a tight hug and chaste kiss before Stiles opens the door and watches Derek walk back to the Camaro. He sighs wistfully.

“So son, anything new going on with you? Had a fun time, did you?”

Stiles spins around and basically falls against the front door as he closes it. “Dad, Daddio, howdy partner!” WTF is he saying? “What are you still doing up? It’s past your bedtime, old man.”

The Sheriff just gives him one of his well-trained stares, the type that make witnesses and criminals tell him everything in the interrogation room. And he just keeps staring. Stiles is starting to sweat, and he knows he’s going to crack.

“So, yeah. I guess I have a new, scorchingly hot Alpha werewolf boyfriend?”

His dad just smirks at him. “Only you, Stiles.” He pauses and looks pointedly at Stiles exposed neck, which he now realizes is likely covered in bruises and beard burn. “Stiles, are you okay with this? Did he try to force anything, did you feel like you had to do anything you didn’t want?”

“Oh my god, Dad! No, of course not! Anything that may or may not have happened was 100% mutual and with full consent, from both of us. Derek would never hurt me, you know that!”

John throws his hands in the air to placate his son, “Okay, okay, but I’m your dad and I have to make sure. And to be honest, I’m not really surprised, the two of you haven’t been exactly subtle these last few weeks. It’s no wonder Parish is so sensitive. Please try to be considerate around him, okay? Parish is pretty jealous of Derek’s feelings for you and still needs some time.”

Stiles looks stunned, the pieces finally coming together. “Oh my god, _that_ is why he has acted like such a dick to me? Seriously? And by the way, I had _no_ idea Derek was interested in me before tonight. It still makes no sense to me, I mean you’ve seen the guy, right? I don’t know how it happened. But yeah, I’ll do my best not to antagonize your deputy, I promise, Dad.” Stiles mind is awash with too much new information. Holy shit.

John is obviously trying hard not to laugh. “Okay, fine. Now a few ground rules for you and your new boyfriend. You’re 18 so you’re legally allowed to make your own decisions and to provide consent for yourself. However, I really don’t need, nor do I want, to know about what the two of you get up to in private. The less I know about that, the better, as long as you are safe and both fully consenting.”

“Don’t worry dad, I’ve done my research and werewolves can’t carry diseases, and since I’m still an 18-year-old virgin, I think we’re good.”

“Like I said son, TMI. Keep me out of it, and that means my ears. I don’t want to hear you with Derek given the horrific noises you’ve made just by yourself.”

“OH MY GOD, DAD, Stop. Please for the love of all that is good in this world, just stop talking and never speak of any of this ever again!”

“I’m just protecting my future sanity. Alright, I’m heading to bed, you should too.”

“Fucking menace, and people wonder why I’m the way I am.” Stiles mumbles as he follows his dad up the stairs.

*************

Stiles is at the loft the next day, doing more research with the bestiary. He already finished his actual homework assigned over winter break, so he can spend the rest of his days focused on pack business. He smiles to himself, enjoying the feeling of connection to this odd group of people. Isaac and Peter were at the loft when he arrived and let him in, apparently Derek is out going for a run.

Isaac gives Stiles a knowing smile and wink when he lets him in, but it is clearly all in good fun. He also gives Stiles a hug and quick scenting, something that Stiles is getting more and more used to.

Peter, however, is absolutely gloating when he sees Stiles neck. “My, my, it seems I missed all the excitement last night. I wasn’t sure my dreary nephew had it in him to leave such lovely marks.” Peter reaches his hand to trace one of Stiles’ hickeys, but Stiles moves out of the way and Isaac actually get in between them. “Fuck off Peter, don’t touch him. Not like that.”

Stiles pats Isaac’s shoulder to thank him and to try to calm him down. “Thanks, buddy. And he’s right Peter, no bad touches from you. Quit trying to get everyone all riled up. I should start calling you Loki.”

Peter laughs but Isaac calms down anyway. “It’s interesting that Isaac got so protective over you already, especially since you haven’t been officially mated to Derek. Clearly your bond with my nephew is very strong. I’m happy for you both, and it’s definitely going to strengthen the pack.” Peter gives Stiles a real smile this time.

Stiles moves on and settles at the long table, digging back into his research, determined to make progress. He thinks that Isaac may be hanging around on the couch to keep Peter in check, and he wishes everyone else was able to see Peter for who he really is. He plans to have another chat with the man, he at least needs to let Isaac see more of his good side since they live together.

Stiles turns a page in the book and both wolves notice his heart rate start to spike. “Stiles? What is it?” Peter joins him at the table, no longer being weird, instead very intent on what he is reading. Isaac joins them within another moment. “Look at this, I think this may be what is in the woods. We kept thinking the iron was some sort of weapon, but what if it’s actually part of the creature?”

Peter places his hand on Stiles shoulder, completely innocently this time, “I think you may have found it. The description definitely fits.”

Before Peter can say any more all three are startled out of their focus on the bestiary by a roar from the front door. Derek is standing there in low hanging basketball shorts, socks and running shoes, and absolutely nothing else. His skin glistens, sweaty from his run. Stiles thinks it’s a miracle that Derek didn’t cause a traffic accident with how distracting he is. Focus Stiles.

Shit. Derek’s eyes are glowing red and Peter quickly removes his hand from Stiles’ shoulder. Stiles thinks he hears him mumbling something to himself about oversensitive alpha instincts. “Now nephew, we were just reading the bestiary, and as Stiles so quaintly put it, I was not giving him a “bad touch” this time. You need to calm down and get your instincts under control.”

Isaac instantly knows that Peter dug himself into a deeper hold and quickly moves even farther away.

Derek pants and is shifts into his beta form, “What do you mean, _this time_?” The words are a little garbled through his fangs.

“Oh fuck.” Before Peter can get any more words out Derek has him in a choke hold, pushed up against a wall, snarling like he might actually make good on his threat to rip his uncle’s throat out.

Stiles springs into action, thinking about what he’s read about pack dynamics and mates, realizing how all of his interactions with Derek make so much more sense now. “Derek, hey Der, come on big guy. I’m fine. No one has hurt me.” Isaac looks a little terrified for him, but Stiles is strangely calm and confident about what he’s going to do. He places his hand on the back of Derek’s neck and squeezes gently, starts rubbing his thumb up and down the sensitive skin just below Derek’s ear, scenting his mate.

Within just a few moments Derek starts to shift back and he slowly lowers Peter to the ground. “That’s right, Der. Just breath. Come on now, let Peter go. He’s not going to hurt me, are you Peter.”

Even in this somewhat precarious situation, Peter smirks. “No Stiles, I won’t hurt you. In fact, you are definitely my favorite. You’ve brought out more Alpha in Derek than I knew was possible. Come on, nephew, you know he’s safe from me.”

Derek shutters, gives Peter’s neck one more squeeze just for good measure, then pushes him away to sprawl across the floor. Derek immediately turns to Stiles, pulls him into his arms and buries his face in Stiles’ neck. Stiles just hugs him back, rubbing soothing circles across his naked back with one hand while his other continues to squeeze Derek’s neck.

Peter’s voice carries through again. The guy must have a death wish. “Derek, you know that you are only going to get more and more territorial and protective until you claim him. If you don’t want to injure the rest of the pack, you need to get this shit locked down. Putting it off these last few months was dangerous.”

“Derek?” This time it’s Isaac, who looks confused by what is happening. On instinct Derek shields Stiles from Isaac and growls at his beta, who quickly shows his neck and whimpers.

Stiles grabs Derek’s face so he can look him in the eye. “Derek, hey you need to calm down. Isaac hasn’t done anything wrong. Are you hearing me?” Derek closes his eyes and tries to shake his head, as if to clear it. He rests his forehead against Stiles’ shoulder again and takes in a deep breath.

“Fuck. Shit, Isaac I’m sorry. My alpha instincts are going a little crazy right now. I’m sorry, pup. Can you and Peter get out of here for a little while, let the pack know I’m a bit on edge and to give me some distance for a bit? I just need to figure out how to manage this and I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

Isaac smiles, “No worries. I remember when Scott and Kira got together and he was a freaking psycho until they were mated. It must be even worse since you’re Alpha and Stiles isn’t a wolf. I’ll let them know. But we did make a breakthrough on the murders so the sooner you get this settled the better.”

Isaac drags Peter out of the loft, and now Stiles has lots of questions.

“So I know that we like, literally just got together last night, but I’m sensing that we need to have the serious relationship conversation sooner than later, right? Probably time I get more info about mates, at least from you. I mean, I’ve read up a bit on some of the wolf histories in the books you have here, but I’d feel better getting info from you. Also, I was wondering if the Alpha-Spark bond thing Deaton kept mentioning has something to do with this?”

Derek is tense and starts sucking a new bruise into Stiles’ neck. “Yes, we need to talk about this, but I can’t focus right now. I need. Fuck, I need.” Derek is panting into Stiles’ shoulder, like he’s in pain.

Stiles buries his hands in Derek’s hair, his dick growing harder by the second. “What do you need?”

“I need to mark you better, need any wolf within five miles to know you are mine, smell me on you.”

Stiles toes are curling at the possessive words, clearly a kink he didn’t know he had. “Fuck, Derek. How, how will you do that?”

Derek looks up and into Stiles’ eyes, “I want you to let me come all over you, rub it in to your skin.”

Stiles balls pulse just at those words. “Oh my god, yes, yes, yes. Derek, all the yesses. And I want to do the same to you, I want you to carry me on your scent, too. My Alpha. Is that okay? Can I?” And there is his famous lack of impulse control coming back to life.

Stiles wonders if he’s gone too far, but Derek starts ripping his clothes off his body. He’s going to miss that flannel, it was one of his favorites. Fuck, there go his most comfortable pair of jeans and his captain America boxers. Then before he can process that he’s naked in front of another person, Derek drops to his knees and sucks Stiles in with a single move.

Stiles groans and does his best not to cum immediately. He can’t look down, because he thinks the image of Derek’s gorgeous face sucking his cock will trigger immediate orgasm and he wants this to last. Without thinking he grabs Derek’s hair, then drops it and stutters an apology. Derek pulls off his dick and looks up at Stiles. “Stiles, pull my hair, do whatever you want to do. But before you come, I want you to pull out and get it all over me. Mark me as yours. Just pull my ear or something to let me know.”

Stiles nods helplessly, honestly wondering if he could come from words alone. But then Derek has sucked him back in, his tongue rubbing right on that spot just under the head of his cock and Stiles can’t stop from grabbing back onto him, rutting into this mouth. He’s babbling, no idea what he’s even saying. “Fuck, Derek your fucking mouth. So hot, and your tongue. Oh my god, oh my god, don’t stop. Just don’t stop. Best thing ever.”

Derek starts massaging his balls and Stiles can feel the familiar zing start to creep up his spine, his nuts pulling in tight to his body as he gets really close to coming. He pulls Derek’s ear as ordered, beyond coherent words at the moment or being embarrassed by how quickly Derek has gotten him to the edge, making nothing but needy sounds.

Derek pulls off and then starts jerking his cock, and within three pulls Stiles shoots off like a geyser, all over Derek’s face and chest. And just like a fucking porno, oh my god, Derek is sweeping his tongue out to taste it, groaning when he gets some into his mouth.

Derek takes his hand and rubs the cum in, starts rubbing it up and down his neck, then over his chest and stomach. Stiles is bordering on comatose, drugged by the intense orgasm and from watching his hot as fuck boyfriend bathes himself in Stiles cum. He’s amazed he’s still standing and not melted into a literal puddle of goo on the floor. Things this hot are not supposed to happen to someone like him.

Stiles tries to shake out of his catatonic state and kneels down to get at Derek’s hips, wanting to get the damn shorts off so he can finally see his dick and get him off too. Derek helps and quickly pulls his shorts off, then whips off the jock strap he was wearing for his run.

Derek takes one hand to grab the back of Stiles neck and pulls their faces very close together, staring into Stiles eyes with an intensity that would normally freak him out. With his other hand he grabs Stiles hand and drags it through the cum on Derek’s stomach, gets it all over his hand and fingers, then he moves it back down and wraps Stiles fingers around Derek’s cock.

“Oh my god, you’re using my cum as lube. This shit is hotter than anything I’ve ever even imagined.” Stiles starts rubbing up and down Derek’s gorgeous cock. It’s uncut and pretty fucking huge, definitely thicker than his own. Derek watches with fiery red eyes, licking his lips as he fucks into Stiles’ hand. Stiles has never given a blow job before, but he can’t seem to help himself. Looking up at Derek as he slowly moves his face closer to Derek’s cock, he silently asks permission.

Derek groans out a “Fuck yes Stiles, suck me.” And that’s all it takes. Stiles reaches out his tongue for a first taste, enjoying the feel of the smooth mushroom head, then dips his tongue just under the foreskin and moves it around. This makes Derek shiver and moan. Stiles decides to go for it and sucks this gorgeous cock into his mouth; he doesn’t try to deep throat because he knows he’ll need to practice, but he tries to do some of the things Derek did that drove him crazy. Somehow the taste of himself all over Derek’s dick just turns him on more.

Whatever it is he is doing, it’s clear the Alpha is enjoying himself. Stiles does his best to hollow his cheeks so they can drag over Derek’s dick as it moves in and out of his mouth, with his fist jerking over the base of his cock to heighten the sensation.

Just as Stiles’ jaw starts to hurt Derek pulls out. He pushes Stiles down so he’s lying with his back on the cold loft floor and Derek kneels over him. With a few furious jerks of his cock, Derek unleashes a load of cum onto Stiles torso. Stiles absently considers that Derek’s cum should be measured by the people at Guinness World Records. W. O. W. That’s a lot of cum. Derek roars as he comes, and as soon as the last drop is out, he starts smearing it all over Stiles’ body, his neck, arms, stomach, cock, groin. Then Derek is on him, like a full body blanket, rubbing them together in as many places as possible.

“Der, as hot as this was, and I’m not kidding, A+ grade, would hit it again, but the floor is really cold and not particularly comfortable. If you want to get down with some cuddle times could we move to a couch or bed?”

Derek carries him up to his room, where they proceed to snuggle and nap for the next few hours. If he doesn’t smell enough like Derek now, it will never be good enough. Before drifting off to sleep, Stiles promises to himself that when they wake up, they will have their talk.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The mate talk. Jordan being Jordan. And the Sheriff being awesome. This is so fluffy you may just float away. I couldn't help myself. More plot, sexy times, seriousness, and humor in coming chapters. We're getting close to the end game.

Stiles wakes up to a sensation he can’t describe. He opens his eyes to see Derek bent over him, gently licking his chest and stomach. It’s weird because it doesn’t feel sexual at all, more like he’s being cherished and loved. He runs his fingers through Derek’s hair and grazes his blunt nails down his scalp, earning a warm rumble from Derek who moves back up to give Stiles a slow kiss.

Normally, after bathing in buckets of cum (not that this is an experience he has had before), Stiles assumed he would be desperate for a shower at least, but he can tell that the smell is making Derek calm and happy. Derek, who wants to be Stiles’ mate.

Right, time for that talk. “Derek, hey are you okay big guy?”

Derek smiles and rumbles, which is fucking adorable okay, but does not help Stiles figure out if he is verbal enough for what they need to discuss.

“Okay, can you use your words? Because as much as I love all of this, and I mean all of it, we have some pretty important things we need to figure out about this whole mating business, especially if it’s making you attack your pack. Also, we need to make a move on the murders in the Preserve and I think I may have finally figured out what is doing it. So, can we talk? We can still cuddle, but can we start the talking?”

Derek sighs as he sits up against the headboard of his bed and pulls Stiles up with him, propping them both up against his scant pillows so they can see each other but still be comfortable.

Derek just looks at him and Stiles realizes that he needs to start this with some questions. “So, mates. Can you tell me what that means to you?”

Derek smiles and grabs Stiles’ hand. “A mate is a partner you have for life. It’s someone who you trust absolutely, who makes you feel loved and who you protect at all costs. There’s nothing like human divorce for mates, it’s almost like a physical connection. Once the bond is solidified, you are mated for life.”

Stiles can’t believe Derek said all of that, looking right into his eyes. “And, to be clear, you actually want that with me? To mate me. Forever. Me. I mean, how can you be sure I’m the right person?”

Derek sighs and squeezes Stiles hand. “I’ve never met someone who I wanted like this before. As soon as I smelled you on Scott it took all of my control not to find you immediately.”

Stiles gets a little sad at that. “So, it’s because of how I smell? Not because you actually like me?”

“Stiles, it’s so hard to explain to someone who is not a werewolf. Smell means so much more, it’s linked directly to who you are as a person. Your love and devotion, your humor, your sadness, your determination. So much of that is built into how you smell to me, what you make me feel. It’s something my parents talked about, that you sort of know it when you experience it. I didn’t really understand. I was wrong once.” Derek closes his eyes and looks distraught.

“Der? Hey, hey it’s okay. Whatever it is, it’s okay.”

“When I was younger than you by a few years, I thought I found my mate. I was heart sick over losing my first adolescent love who died because her body rejected the bite. Then Kate Argent came into my life.” Stiles sucks in a breath, because he knows what Derek is trying to explain and can’t let him go through that.

“Derek, you don’t have to explain. Peter told me what happened. Kate was a fucking monster and none of what she did is your fault.”

Derek squeezes Stiles hands in thanks. “Part of me understands that, but I still can’t stop feeling responsible. But regardless, she only got so close to me because she smelled so good. I was convinced that she must be my mate.”

“But, if our smell is linked to who we are, how could Kate and I both smell good to you? I, I really don’t understand.”

“She smelled nothing like you, she smelled like power and confidence and mystery and secrecy, and something dark that my stupid inexperienced brain thought was exciting. My wolf never fully trusted her, but I wasn’t thinking clearly enough to trust my instincts. And as a 15 year old that was all really exciting. I didn’t understand that nothing about her spoke to caring and family and love and trust.”

Stiles calms down a bit, because though he still doesn’t actually understand it, he believes Derek.

“Stiles, it’s because you smelled so fucking incredible to me that I reacted so badly to you at first. Sure, you were an unknown human, but really it was because it was the first time in my life that I ever felt this physical need to be with someone just because of how much their smell called to me. I have doubted my ability to find a good mate because of what Kate did, and so I assumed that if you smelled that incredible you must also be a danger. I’m so sorry, even dead she is still fucking with me.”

Stiles hauls Derek in to hug him tightly. It all makes so much sense now. This is that something that he sensed Derek was holding back. Jesus.

“Thank you for explaining that to me, I know it wasn’t easy.”

“You’re welcome, you’re worth it. Worth everything. Honestly, the most annoying part was that Peter figured it out right away. He knew you were meant to be my mate and would not stop taunting me about it. Part of that was practical, because he’s right. By holding myself apart from you for so long, my instincts are completely on edge. And I want to make sure you understand. At the time Kate smelled great to me. But what you do to me, there is nothing on this earth that is even comparable. It really is just like my parents explained.”

Stiles is flattered, but also still confused. “I’m still a little worried that this is all about instincts. I know they matter, but, I mean, as much as I’m glad I smell good, I’d like to be loved for more than that. Especially if there is no going back. I feel like you are getting saddled with a spazzy weirdo because I happen to appeal to your olfactory senses. You’re mystically drawn to me, but I’m no picnic, Derek. Plus, you are way too hot for me. I’ve read that strong relationships are those where people are fairly equivalent in their attractiveness. And clearly you like hot guys if you were interested in Jordan Parish. I just feel like I’m trapping you somehow, or that you haven’t realized what it means to be stuck with someone like me.”

Thank god Derek stopped his epic ramble, because Stiles anxiety is starting to explode and the verbal diarrhea would have just continued. “Stiles, okay, clearly I need to do a better job explaining. First, Parish. Yes, he’s attractive. But, as you can probably understand now, I only dated him because I was wasn’t willing to be with someone who I could develop a close attachment to. Parish already knew about werewolves so it seemed like an uncomplicated thing to me. We had some chemistry so why not.” Stiles can’t help how awful he feels hearing Derek admit that. Of course they have chemistry. Fuck.

“However, I never was really that into it. It was fun, sure. But when I realized Parish was getting emotionally attached, I knew I needed to end it. Other than feeling some guilt at his hurt feelings, I didn’t miss him at all.”

Stiles’ life-long struggle with self-esteem starts generating questions he can’t help but ask.

“It just doesn’t make sense that you would feel that way about Jordan but differently about me. Is it just that I’m a Spark? That I’m an asset to the pack? Because I really don’t want my special abilities to be what attracts you. I’ll help to protect the pack regardless; I hope you know that.”

“Stiles, that’s exactly the point. You are such a good person. Better than I deserve. Even if you didn’t have magic you would work your ass off to help the pack. It’s who you are. You are so fucking loyal, you always put others before yourself, which we need to talk about. You’re the only person I’ve met who even comes close to Lydia with book smarts, and you’re not afraid to love and care for people even though you’ve experienced losses and know how risky loving can be. You are much stronger than me in that way.”

Stiles smiles, because he’s waited forever for someone to really see him. “Okay, so I’m good to have around. But dude, when we get down to basics, you’re an 11 on a 10-point scale of hotness. On a good day I’m a 6.5. I just.” He sighs. “I feel so insecure about it, I just can’t believe you actually want this [ **insert awkward flailing at himself** ] for, like, ever.”

“Stiles.” Derek is clearly exasperated. “Do you not have any idea how fucking hot you are? Really? Half of the pack are into you, it’s created a bit of drama to be honest.”  
Derek starts laughing because Stiles is sure he has a completely dumbfounded expression on his face. “Erica clearly has the hots for you, but since Boyd agrees with her they haven’t been fighting. I’m a little surprised you haven’t been invited to join them, if you know what I mean. I think the threat of their alpha ripping their throats out is the only thing keeping them in check.” Stiles chokes on his own tongue and Derek just keeps going.

“However, Jackson is always pissy with you because he can smell that Lydia also finds you attractive. And don’t get me started on the sweet crush Isaac has on you. They all smell like happy arousal anytime you are here.”  
Derek hauls Stiles up to straddle his lap. “It’s a good fucking thing that I’m the alpha and they all know you are mine. I wish you could see yourself as I see you, as everyone else sees you. Your eyes are stunning, your wide lips are fucking obscene and designed to make me hard every time you smirk or suck on a pen. And Jesus, those long, lean fingers of yours drive me crazy.” Derek takes some of those fingers and starts sucking on them, dragging them against his human teeth. “I can’t stop thinking about what these fingers are capable of. Of having them slowly open me, how fucking amazing they will feel inside me.”

Stiles thinks he may seriously die from over-stimulation, having never guessed that Derek might be versatile and willing to bottom. Actually, he sounds more than just willing. Holy fuck. Shit, he really needs to calm down.

“Okay, okay. Um. Just. Wow. Okay.”

Derek laughs and pulls him in for a hug. “It’s you I love and I am absurdly attracted to you, do you believe me now?”

Stiles wrenches back, stunned. “You love me?”  
“Of course I love you. I want to be with you always.”

Stiles almost violently grabs Derek for another hug. “Fuck. I love you too. I thought it was too soon, too fast. I wasn’t going to say anything.”

Derek rubs soothing circles into Stiles back. “Not at all, Stiles. We’ve both been drawn to each other. In my world, this is normal, slow actually. I have no doubts about you. I just need you to be sure.”

Stiles pulls back, more questions have popped into his head. “So, it doesn’t matter that I’m not a wolf?”

“No, not at all. My father was human, actually. It’s not unusual. And historically, Spark-Alpha pairs have been extremely powerful in part because of how strong their mating bonds are. Stiles, forgetting about all the mystical reasons, you make me feel safe. I can be just Derek with you, be vulnerable with you. I’ve never had that, not since I lost my family. Do you understand?”

Stiles nods, unable to keep the tears from leaking down his cheeks. He really does understand.

“Okay, final question, for now anyway. What does becoming a mate require? How does it actually work?”

Derek blushes as he explains. “I have to give you a mating bite, one that doesn’t turn you into a werewolf, but rather solidifies the mating bond.” Derek starts absently dragging a finger over the spot where Stiles’ neck meets his shoulder, guessing that Derek is day dreaming about where the bite will be. “Typically the bite is given right as I knot you for the first time.”

Stiles sort of wishes he had a picture of what his face must be doing at this very moment. “Knot me. I’m…. Um…. HolyfuckingshitIneedthatassoonaspossibleohmygodohmygodohmygod.”

Derek pulls him in and buries his face in Stiles’ neck. “Fuck. Don’t tempt me. We need to talk to your Dad, because Peter is right. I’m not going to be able to hold out much longer. But Stiles, is this what you want? If not I can talk to Deaton, find a way to break the bond or something. I need you to consent. I refuse to take advantage of you.”

Stiles pulls away from Derek so he can grab his face with both of his hands, looks right at this beautiful man. He knows what he wants. The human in him thinks this is absolutely insane, but the Stilinski in him knows he’s not going to change his mind. “I want you. My Mate. My Alpha. My Derek.”

Now it’s Derek’s turn to get emotional. He barely contains choked sobs as he pulls Stiles to him. Maybe they both deserve something good for once.

***************

Stiles and Derek are canoodling on the couch, he can’t believe he even used the word canoodle in his mind, but whatever, it’s what they’re doing. They’re waiting for his dad to get there because they need to have a serious talk with him. He should be there soon, and the rest of the pack will get there an hour later for a meeting to make a plan to deal with the creature in the woods.

Derek is basically draped over Stiles on the couch because Derek can’t seem to stop scenting his neck. Stiles doesn’t mind. It’s almost like Derek is high off their combined scents. He said that smelling them together is the most addictive, incredible thing he’s ever experienced. It’s probably because of this that Derek didn’t notice when the Sheriff arrived, or that he didn’t come alone.

Stiles is startled out of his mate-love addled haze by an angry Deputy Parish. “What the hell, Derek? Are you kidding me? You fucking knew I was here, you must have heard me walking into the loft. Why are you rubbing this in my face? Are you trying to intentionally to hurt me, because it’s working.”

Derek sits up, trying to put a respectful amount of space between him and Stiles. “Jordan, no. I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were there. I’m not trying to be insensitive, I promise you.”

“Don’t lie to me, Derek. You’re an Alpha werewolf, of course you could hear my heartbeat and smell me as soon as I was close to the door. Why are you doing this?” Parish’s voice breaks a little and Stiles feels awful that something giving him so much joy could be hurtful to someone else.

Derek sighs and Stiles becomes even more uncomfortable. Is it possible that Derek’s using this to punish Parish for something? Parish is right that a werewolf should be able to notice him immediately. What is going on?

Derek senses that Stiles is getting anxious and immediately hugs him into his body for comfort. “No, baby. Please don’t start doubting.” This, of course hurts Jordan even more.

Derek looks up but doesn’t let go of Stiles. “Jordan, I’m sorry. I’m not lying. I genuinely didn’t notice you were with the Sheriff. My instincts and senses are a little out of whack at the moment; that’s actually why we asked the Sheriff to come to the meeting early. I’m sorry, I didn’t think you would be coming with him. But there are things that Stiles and I need to discuss with the Sheriff.”

Derek looks so frustrated. “Fuck, Jordan, I like you, you know I care about you. I’m not trying to hurt you. We just didn’t work out. I don’t know how to do this without hurting you more, and I’m genuinely sorry about that.”

Jordan’s eyes are a little glassy, and this is when the Sheriff steps in. “Parish, I know you had lots of work today and I pulled you away. I’m sorry about that. This was my mistake, so why don’t you take the cruiser back to the station and you can get back to it. If we end up talking about anything case-related I’ll give you a full briefing later today or tomorrow. How does that sound.”

Parish stoically nods his head then walks out. John watches him leave then rubs his hand across his face in a tired gesture. He looks up at the two men on the couch, sighs again, then takes a seat on one of the plush armchairs. Derek is barely paying his dad any attention, still focused on calming Stiles down. It works.

“Okay you two. That could have gone better, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I wasn’t supposed to bring Parish along. So, what’s going on that you need to talk to me about?”

Derek sits up straight and keeps Stiles hand in his. “Sir, I’m in love with your son.”

Stiles almost chokes, he can’t believe that love is what Derek leads with. But then again, it’s something humans understand.

His dad looks amused. “Yeah, I kinda figured that one out a while ago.”

Derek blanches at that, but continues on. “Right. Well, the thing is, werewolves, we have mates. It’s sort of like being married but more permanent. And I. I knew pretty quickly that Stiles was my mate.”

There’s a long silence as the Sheriff takes that in. “Stiles, anything to add before I respond?”  
“Dad, I love him. I know that this seems ridiculously sudden, but really it’s not. We’ve been building up to this since he saved my life.” Good plan, remind him that he’d be dead without Derek.

His dad smirks, clearly onto his tactic. Dammit. “Dad, we have this bond, it’s pretty rare and I feel the pull of it just like Derek does.” Then he pauses. “Well, I’m not trying to kill other pack members who touch Derek, so maybe I’m a little more in control at the moment than Derek is, but it’s completely mutual.”

“What?” Now the Sheriff is alarmed. “Who has Derek tried to kill?”

“Shit. Okay, so Derek has been trying to hold back on his need and instincts for weeks, all telling him that I’m his mate and to claim me as such. And since we finally got our shit together last night, Derek’s instincts are going a little haywire. He’s super protective of me, and will continue to be until we finalize our mating bond. Der, did I explain that correctly?”

Derek nods. “I got close to ripping Peter’s throat out when he had his hand on Stiles shoulder today.”

The Sheriff raises his eyebrows at that. “What stopped you?”

“I did!” Stiles adds happily, proudly. “I was able to talk him down, calm him, because I’m his mate and he listens to me. Ha!” Yes, he’s gloating.

Derek just smirks at him.   
“What is to stop you from attacking other people who get close to Stiles? Are you going to attack me if I hug my own son?”

Derek makes a choking/coughing noise and Stiles is pretty sure he’s blushing all over.   
His dad just looks at them both. Stiles cracks. “Um, as a temporary solution, as long as Derek feels secure that other werewolves can smell that I’m his, and he is mine, he thinks he can keep it under control. Any additional details about this will be in direct violation of our previously agreed upon pact to keep you unaware of, um, things…”

His dad groans and covers his eyes with his hand. “Fuck my life. I don’t deserve this.” And yeah, Stiles snickers, because he’s an asshole like that.

“Derek, can I talk to my son alone, please?”

Stiles knows that Derek will still hear them, but he gets it. Derek squeezes his shoulder then goes upstairs to his room.

“Stiles, tell me now, because this sounds like the sort of thing that once you do it you can’t take it back. What do you want? Be honest, son.”

“Dad. He’s it for me. And I’m pretty positive he feels the same way. I don’t feel unwanted or weird or ugly, or any of those other things when I’m with him. He makes me feel like I actually matter, like I deserve someone as amazing as him. For some reason he thinks I’m amazing, too. And plus, I’m part of the pack now. I’m going to be involved and do anything I can to keep them all safe. I’m already in this world for life, regardless of Derek being my mate. I just. I really do love him, Dad.”

His Dad smiles sadly at him. “You are so much like your mother, sometimes I forget what it was like. She basically claimed me as soon as she met me in college. There was no changing her mind or going back. Not that I wanted to. She would be so happy for you.”

Stiles’ heart is both full and sad. What he wouldn’t give for his mother to meet Derek. He’s starting to get up to hug his dad when the Sheriff throws his hands up as if to ward him off.

“Son, I love you, but if you spent the afternoon doing what I think you were doing, I really don’t want to touch any part of you right now.”

And there we go, back to the Stilinski Standard. Sarcasm and assholery. He just shakes his head at his father with withering eyes.

“Derek, feel free to come back down buddy.”

Derek very quickly is down the stairs and back on the couch, pulling Stiles tightly into his side.

“Okay boys, so what now? You’re committed to each other, but does this have to happen soon? I admit it seems a little rushed to my old, human brain.”

“Sir, I’m prepared to wait until whenever Stiles is ready, with the caveat that I will have to continue to take certain… measures… to make sure I can keep in control of my instincts.”

His dad’s face scrunches up in clear disgust and Stiles is living for it. “Serves you right you jerk.”

His father is clearly ready to move on. “Fine, just keep that all to yourselves for god’s sake. But once the mating bond is settled, or whatever it is you need to do, what then? Will Stiles still live at home? Finish school? Be able to go to college?”

“After the official claiming, Stiles and I will need to be in close proximity for the first year at least until their bond is truly settled. Stiles, if you don’t want to move out of your Dad’s house, we can split our time at both places. I can’t fully move into your home because I’m responsible for Isaac.” Derek seems torn at having to admit this, but it just makes Stiles love him more.

They agree to stay at both places, and the Sheriff makes sure that Derek understands he and Isaac are always welcome in the Stilinski home. Just please, please don’t subject him to mate sex, for god’s sake.

They finish up the emotional, uncomfortable conversation before the rest of the pack are due to arrive. Stiles, regardless of his dad’s earlier squeamishness, gets up to embrace him.

“Thank you, dad. Thank you for understanding and trusting me.”

“I love you son, and I trust you to know what you want.”

Then John shocks Stiles and Derek by pulling Derek into a bear hug of his own.

“I know you have been through more than any person should have to go through at such a young age. And my son is not stupid, the opposite really. He’s drawn to you because of who and what you are, I know you’ll care for him. And for when he makes you want to pull your teeth out and bang your head against a wall, you can always come and talk to me. We’re family now, okay? I want to make sure you understand that. We’re pack which makes us werewolf family, but if you’re going to be essentially married to my son, we are human family too.”

Derek is wrecked, these Stilinski’s are turning him into a blubbering mess, and he really can’t imagine feeling more happy or grateful.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to more plot-related bits. I hope everyone who celebrates had a nice Valentine's Day! Thanks again for all the support with this fic.

Thankfully, Stiles thinks that he, Derek, and his dad each have their emotions more under control before the rest of the pack arrive for the meeting. Stiles is getting snacks and drinks set up in the kitchen, prepared to intervene if his father even thinks about having meat pizza or potato chips, when he hears the door open.

Stiles realizes very quickly that while he objectively understood that the wolves would be able to know what he and Derek got up to, he hasn’t actually prepared for what the reality of that means.

First, Derek basically plasters himself around Stiles as soon as the pack start entering the loft, making sure everyone knows that he and Stiles are together on the off chance their sniffers fail them. Stiles kinda wishes their noses did fail, because this is going to get embarrassing very quickly. Of course, it’s Jackson who speaks up first.

“Jesus Christ, what the hell did you two do? It’s like you practically bathed in each other’s…”

“Why, hello Mr. Whitmore, how nice of you to join us.”

Stiles loves his dad. He gets one piece of meat pizza. Jackson starts blushing and quickly shuts up when he realizes what he was about to say right in front of the Sheriff. Derek and Stiles can’t stop laughing.

Next to speak up is Erica, who, Stiles realizes, is much less likely to cower in front of his dad. Fuck. And why is she standing there, staring at the ground, sniffing? OH MY GOD. She can tell where they… oh god.

“Seriously, guys? You didn’t even make it to a bed? Dammit, I can’t believe we missed this. Next time I refuse to miss this. God, I bet it was so hot.”

“OH MY GOD ERICA STOP!” Stiles screams his fruitless plea into Derek’s chest, absolutely horrified to be having this happen in front of his father. He’s also pretty sure that Derek is fucking preening, the traitor. Someone save him.

“Erica.” Oh, that’s Derek’s sexy as hell alpha voice. Hmmmm. “Drop it, and stop embarrassing and sniffing after my mate.” There may have been a tiny bit of a roar in that order, and Stiles can’t be blamed for getting turned on by it.

Thankfully Boyd just smirks at all of them and drags his girlfriend over to the couch, where hopefully his Dad can keep them in line.

Once Stiles feels safe to peak around Derek’s shoulder, he sees Scott has walked up to them, looking at Derek carefully to make sure it’s okay to approach. Scott’s nose is scrunched up pretty adorably, probably grossed out, but he’s smiling and pushes his arm in for a fist bump which Stiles reciprocates while still staying in Derek’s arms. “Way to get it, buddy! I knew you two would finally figure your stuff out.”

He loves Scott, seriously. “Thanks, man. I pretty much hit the jackpot here.”

Derek’s chest rumbles and he nuzzles his scratchy face into Stiles’ neck. “You’re my jackpot.”

Aaaaand Stiles is back to blushing. Thankfully, Lydia, goddess of death and all things awesome, saves them all.

“Okay you two, try to focus because we are here for a reason. Peter warned us all to keep a safe distance from you and we understand. However, we need to make a plan about the creature. Peter also mentioned that you figured out what it is, is that right?”

Okay, his lust has calmed down and he and Derek walk over to join the group, which now also includes Isaac and Peter. Rather than share the couch, Derek settles them in a corner on their own cushions, with Stiles settled between his legs so Derek can keep his arms wrapped around his middle, one hand snuck under his shirt rubbing gentle circles over his belly.

Stiles can see the stink faces on all the wolves and wonders exactly how strong Eau de Alpha-Spark really is?

Peter takes this as his cue. “I know it’s abusing all of your sensitive noses, but until the alpha pair are officially mated, get used to the smell. Otherwise your loving Alpha will likely try to rip your throat out any time you get near Stiles. So grow up and get over it.”

When no one challenges that, Peter continues. “We think Stiles identified the creature. It’s called a Black Annise, reported mostly in British folklore. It’s a kind of disfigured witch, often blue in color, with iron claws used to kill and to dig caves. They feed on humans and in particular prefer children. They are known to be vicious, with excellent hearing and physical speed.”

“How do we kill it?” Lydia asks.

“Based on the bestiary notes, we rip her head off and burn her, the bury the ashes underground covered in salt.”

Isaac starts laughing. “Are you sure you aren’t getting this from a Supernatural episode?”

Stiles thinks his pack is awesome, especially if they can make Supernatural references while planning to hunt a killer.

Now the Sheriff joins in. “Okay, how do we find it? What are its strengths?”

Stiles answers. “Well, traditionally she would dig a cave in the side of a cliff, usually in limestone. Are there any of those around? If not, we can look in other areas of the Preserve that have cliffs or rocks for her to burrow into. We can start coordinated searches. But don’t engage – her claws are made of iron and could do some serious damage.”

“What about the lack of smell? Was there any info on that?” Of course, Lydia would notice the one bit of evidence that doesn’t fit.

“No, there’s nothing in the bestiary about that. I still don’t understand it. Something is telling me we have the right creature, but maybe just not all the information yet?”

“Okay kids, this is all really helpful. I’ll update Deputy Parish and you all stay safe while you’re out there looking for it.”

The group finish eating and brainstorming ideas about how to go about finding the creature, and when they finish Derek announces he’s going home with Stiles for the night and practically smushes Stiles face into his chest with how tightly he hugs him. Isaac and Peter do their best not to laugh. The Sheriff doesn’t even try, he laughs like the asshole he is. Stiles really doesn’t fall far from the tree.

***********

The next morning, Derek drops Stiles and Isaac off at school. He can tell the Alpha does not want to leave him, but after sleeping wrapped up in each other the night before Derek seems okay with how Stiles smells. He can’t believe he’s actually thinking about these things.

“Don’t worry Derek, we’ll take care of him.”

“Hey, listen you two. I’m not a fucking child and I can take care of myself.” He appreciates the love, but he definitely does not like feeling like a fucking maiden in need of rescuing.

Derek looks abashed, something Stiles knows is rare. “I’m sorry. Isaac knows that, he’s just trying to make me feel better about leaving you. You know that your strength is one of the reasons I love you so much, I don’t doubt your ability to take care of yourself. This is just my instincts needing to be reassured.”

Stiles leans into the window and gives Derek a quick hug and kiss. “I love you too, and I’ll be fine. I promise.”

Stiles watches as Derek drives away, then he and Isaac meet up with Scott, Kira, Boyd and Erica near the steps of the school. Stiles feels a little overwhelmed, because according to Derek, Scott and Kira are the only ones in this little group who are not attracted to him. He finds it weird, but is also oddly pleased and flattered by it. They all smile and scrunch their noses at him as they walk into school.

As soon as they open the door and step inside, Stiles can tell that the werewolves are on edge.

“Scott, what’s wrong?”

Scott, and the rest of them for that matter, are sniffing the air. “There’s blood, a lot of blood, somewhere close.”

Stiles face pales and eerie chills run down his spine. “Okay, I think we all have an idea of what happened, now we need to find it. Can you track it?”

Isaac nods and they start walking down the hallway.

Stiles texts Derek and his Dad as he follows his blood hounds to what he expects to be a murder scene. They end up at a closet door that Stiles hadn’t noticed before, it’s near the cafeteria in a place where students don’t usually wander.

Boyd opens the door and finds the body. Even Stiles can smell the blood. It’s hard to tell who the victim is, though it definitely looks like a student based on the bits of clothing he can see.

Stiles has sneaked looks at all sorts of horrific crime scene photos when his Dad wasn’t paying attention, but never something this awful, nor in person. He feels close to tears and tries to keep from vomiting.

Once he’s more acclimated to the scene in front of him, he starts to pick up on something. Instinct has him walking closer to the body. Scott tries to hold him back, but Stiles shakes him off. “There’s something else going on here. I can sort of feel something. Like an energy, I can’t explain it, but it feels like magic.”

The wolves are all sniffing and don’t pick up on another person other than the victim, which now makes perfect sense to Stiles. “Fuck, this monster must also be able to work other magic, that must be why you guys can’t smell it. It said that a Black Annise is a type of witch. Come on, that can’t be normal monster shit, right?”

As soon as Stiles finishes verbalizing that thought, he hits the ground because it feels like his ears are exploding. He looks up and sees Lydia, screaming.

Once she stops, the pack pull them away and wait for the Sheriff to arrive and take over.

*********

After some questions from the HS staff about what they were doing in the cafeteria (which Stiles quickly explains by saying they were looking for pudding; his obsession is well known so they don’t doubt him), the pack are shooed away from the scene.

Once his Dad has a moment free of his deputies and the medical examiner, he walks toward the pack who have all stayed as close to the scene as possible without getting in trouble by the school staff.

Derek had found them shortly after they were done speaking with the school staff and Stiles pulls away from him to give his Dad a quick hug. Derek has been hugging and touching all of the pack, trying to calm everyone down with his Alpha scent. The Sheriff tells them that they can all head home rather than waiting for an official announcement. The Sheriff and Principal decided that school will be cancelled indefinitely until they can be sure everyone is safe. Since the last two crime scenes were bordering or directly on school property, they can’t say for sure that students are safe there anymore.

In the parking lot, Derek hugs and touches all of his pack one more time. Isaac buries his face in Derek’s neck, and all the wolves fight to get into contact with him. Derek comforts and tries to soothe them as best he can, keeping his eyes on Stiles who is waiting back because he knows that the wolves need this connection to help manage their fear and anxiety.

“Isaac, do you want to go home to the loft with Peter or would you rather come back to the Stilinski’s with me and Stiles?”

Isaac asks if he can come with them, and Stiles and Derek are quick to agree, knowing the beta is shaken up and needs to be near his alpha. Before they climb into their cars, Derek grabs Stiles for one more tight hug, burying his face in Stiles’ neck so he can inhale his scent with long breaths. Stiles just hugs him back for as long as he needs, because he’s pretty sure Derek needs comfort just as much as the rest of the pack, and he is more than happy to help.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh - I seriously struggled to finish this chapter. Apologies for any typos because I for some reason am not able to focus on edits today. My favorite parts come right at the end, thank you Peter! Next chapter will be substantially more fluffy/sexy. Almost done!

After a night spent snuggling with both Derek and Isaac, who whined so pathetically that neither Derek nor Stiles could send him to the guest room alone, they went back to the loft so Stiles can continue his research and talk through his ideas.

Peter is there when they arrive and all the wolves look at him expectantly. “Okay, so this thing is classified as a type of witch. Not the kind we typically imagine, but I mean, it seems fair to assume that she has some ability to use magic, right?”

Peter looks thoughtful. “Was there no mention of magical ability in the bestiary?”

“No, it classified the Black Annise as a type of witch, but nothing magic related was listed under its abilities.”

“That’s not entirely surprising.” This time it’s Derek. “The Bestiary is basically a work in progress – as we get more information we amend and add to what we already have. This is not a type of creature we’ve seen around here before, so it makes sense that the Hale information might be incomplete.”

“Okay, well the reason I’m curious about magic use is that Deaton mentioned in a reason lesson that there are ways to mask scent – so it’s possible this thing may know how to do that.”

“If that’s the case, it means that this thing has a reason to mask her scent, meaning she may be aware that there are werewolves in this town.” Stiles looks at Peter, impressed with the older man’s clever mind. That’s a really good point.

“I hadn’t thought of that. I think we should go see Deaton, see what he suggests.”

Derek and Peter nod, in obvious agreement with Stiles, so off to the Vet’s office they went.

*****************

At the doctor’s office, Deaton agrees that they probably have identified the creature.

Deaton hands Stiles a slip of paper. “I have an idea for you to try, Stiles. If the Black Annise is using magic regularly to mask her scent from the wolves, there should be traces of this magic that you will be able to track with your spark.”

Stiles eyes grow wide. “I think I understand, when we were at the crime scene at the school, I could sense magic in the air. But how would I trace it?”

Deaton points to the paper in Stiles’ hand. “If you repeat this incantation with the belief that you can see magic, you should be able to see traces of it in the air. It will be more vibrant where it was more recently used.”

“Derek, can we get back into the school and see if I can do this? We might be able to trace her!”

Derek sighs and Peter chuckles. “Alright, but I have to call your dad because we can’t go in there without the police. I’ll get in touch with the rest of the pack as well, just in case we find her.”

The Sheriff and Deputy Parish approve the idea and justify it as a way to walk the witnesses to the crime scene back through their steps as part of the investigation. This allows the pack access to the otherwise closed school.

The Sheriff and Deputy are at the school doors when Stiles, Derek, Peter, Isaac and the rest of the pack arrive. Parish acts cold but professional, and Stiles and Derek make sure that they are not overtly affectionate. As they walk through the school, the Sheriff tells them that it looks like the last murder was interrupted. Not all of the “parts” consumed/missing in the previous cases were gone from the most recent victim. This means the monster may be on the hunt again soon if she didn’t get her fill.

Once they get to the location of the crime scene, Stiles focuses on the words Deaton gave him and does his best to be confident in his ability to make this work. From the corner of his eye he sees Jordan rolling his eyes, possibly annoyed that everyone else seems to be so focused on Stiles. Jordan obviously doesn’t believe in him, but he’ll use that to fuel his determination.

Once the spell is cast, Stiles opens his eyes and immediately sees pink and gold waves like gossamer in the air.

“Wow, that’s crazy. Also, kinda pretty. Huh. Okay, I think it worked, so should I just follow it now that I can see it?”  
His Dad nods, and so Stiles starts following the trail. Derek makes sure to stay directly next to him, clearly anxious that the creature may try to harm Stiles. He figures it must be anxiety-provoking for the wolves who are so used to depending on their ears and noses.

He follows the magical path out of the closet and toward the cafeteria. He sees what he can only describe as different ‘ages’ of magic in the air, like some are new and some seem older, more browned around the edges and not as bright. Just like Deaton described. These are mainly in the kitchen area, and also strongly on the other side of the counter where the lunch ladies pass out trays and food. Suddenly Stiles stops and pulls in a fast, shocked breath.

“Oh my god, I think I know who it is. It’s one of the lunch ladies. One of the first victims, the freshman girl, do you remember? I am new here, but I recognized her because I was behind her one day buying my lunch in this line – I was pissed because for some reason the lady gave her an extra pudding, and I wanted one too. [ **Insert Jackson mumbling about fucking pudding obsessions**.] When the woman gave me my pudding I felt zinged, almost like a small electric shock. At the time I figured it was just static in the air. But now I am pretty sure it was me subconsciously picking up on her magic.”

“Stiles, do you think she recognized it in you?” Derek asks quickly?

“I mean, I don’t think so. She was more preoccupied making sweet smiles to the girl in front of me, who already got the extra pudding. It seemed so unfair at the time. Fuck. The creature must be expending a regular stream of magic to keep her natural appearance hidden as well as her odor, it’s the only thing that makes sense.”

Then Lydia pipes in, “And, with all the distracting scents of food and students in this area, you wolves wouldn’t have even noticed that she was odorless her. Very clever.”

“Okay, well that’s good. So, can you trace the magic from this area? Think we might be able to find where she’s hiding out?” The Sheriff asks.

Stiles nods and starts following the magical cookie trail, as it were. The group end up outside, approaching a storage shed out near the back of the school property. From the wide haze of magic in the air, Stiles is pretty sure this is where she has been living, which would make access to the bordering woods and school campus easy.

Derek and Peter pry open the shed and are pissed when it’s empty. Stiles suggests that he set up a rune that will alert him to any activity at the shed and uses his own special tricks to make it hard to detect by other magic users.

Once Stiles has the rune activated, he feels tired from all the stress and magic usage. Derek must sense it because he wraps a strong arm around Stiles’ waist as they walk back to the parking lot. “I’m so proud of you, Stiles. You are so talented; I don’t know what we did before you joined our pack.” Stiles smiles, leans his head against Derek’s shoulder, and is about to say something like Sappy Wolf, but then his ear catches annoyed grumbles coming from Jordan Parish.

“Stupid jailbait twink. Probably using his fucking magic to fuck with Derek’s head.” Stiles freezes then sucks in a breath that sounded awfully like a sob, shocked by what Parish has said. Is it possible Derek might believe that? Would the pack think he tricked them all?

With little warning there is a loud roar and Derek’s arm is no longer around Stiles. Derek is right in Jordan’s face and Stiles notices that all the betas and Lydia have flanked his own back, petting him and trying to give him some comfort.

“Jordan, you don’t know a fucking thing you are talking about. I’ve done everything I can to be kind to you, the other night at my loft was unintentional because I didn’t know you were coming over. But I will not tolerate you hurting my mate. From now on, you will shut the fuck up and not even think about giving Stiles a bad look, or you will fucking hear from me. I promise you that you do not want that to happen. Grow the fuck up and get over yourself.”

Derek is panting and The Sheriff does his best to get between them and calm down the situation. Stiles realizes that Derek is struggling for control over his wolf, something shocking to everyone who knows what incredible control their Alpha has.

Acting on instinct, Stiles approaches him. “Derek, Derek it’s okay.”

Stiles walks up behind him and places his hand on the back of Derek’s neck, squeezing gently to calm down his mate. Derek turns away from Parish and pulls Stiles into his arms, clearly not giving two fucks anymore about showing his love for Stiles in front of Parish.

“Baby, are you okay? You know none of us think that about you. You are the best person I’ve ever met. You believe me, right?”

Stiles is stunned by the raw emotion he’s seeing in Derek’s eyes, how distraught he is at the idea that Stiles might have taken Parish’s words to heart. “I know, I really do. I’m sorry it upset me at first, that’s my lifelong insecurities making me anxious when I know I shouldn’t be. I know you love me just as much as I do, you.” Then Stiles pulls back a bit to look at Derek. “Besides, I am sort of a twink, though I don’t think I’m **that** skinny.”

Derek’s chest rumbles, practically purring. “You’re perfect, perfect for me.”

Stiles gives him a quick peck on the lips, but then turns out of his arms to face Jordan. He had been speaking quietly with his father, but they both sense Stiles looking at them. Jordan lifts up his chin at Stiles.

Stiles takes in a steadying breath. “Dad, Jordan. Look, I don’t know what to do here. We need every single one of us working to catch this thing before another kid is murdered. Jordan, you need to know that I had absolutely no intention to hurt you, neither did Derek. I’m sorry you are struggling with this, but it is not fair to hold me responsible for what you are feeling. You two broke up before I even moved to Beacon Hills. I did not steal him away, magically or otherwise. I’m sorry man, this whole thing sucks even more because I always thought you were cool and now you hate me. But, it turns out that I am probably important in catching this witch, and I just want to know that we can at least work together to stop the murders. Can we do that?”

Stiles notices his father giving him a loving and proud look and tries not to blush. Jordan lowers his head his shoulders slump in defeat. Eventually he looks up to make direct eye contact with Stiles. “I’m sorry, I know it’s not really your fault. I’m just struggling. We’re fine, okay? I promise to stop doing this. I’m going to head back to the station to cool off.” Stiles gives him a small, appreciative smile.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Peter walks up to Jordan and throws his arm across the deputy’s shoulder as they head into the parking lot. “Come now, Deputy. Let me show you that you are clearly pining over the wrong Hale.”

Erica starts cackling in the background, and when Stiles looks back at Derek, he is shaking his head at his uncle with a bemused expression on his face.

Slightly uncomfortable, Stiles walks over to him. “Are you okay?”

Derek looks at him quizzically. “What do you mean? I’m really proud how you were able to calm this all down, babe. Of course I’m okay.” Derek smiles at him, as sweetly as a bad ass Alpha werewolf can.

Stiles is still not convinced. “But I mean, Parish is your ex. You don’t mind that Peter is, well, I mean. Um. That Peter might be… um.”

Derek laughs and pulls Stiles into a hug, absently rubbing his scruff against the side of Stiles’ head. “No, frankly they could both use someone good and stable. Come on, let’s head back to the loft and make a plan for how to proceed.”

“Do you actually mind if we do it at my house? I have all the fixings to make lasagna in the fridge and they will spoil if I don’t do it tonight. Everyone is welcome, of course. Right, Dad?”

Stiles glances over at his Dad who is smiling at the two. “Of course, though with this crowd we might need to make 2 or three pans. I’ll stop at the store and get more supplies.”


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I had some extra word space in this chapter and ended up adding more to the smutty section than I originally anticipated. I also planned for it to be quick and dirty, and somehow it became emotional and sweet. Oh well. We are almost at the end of the road. Thanks again to all of you who have been reading and commenting, it is very much appreciated!

Stiles helps his Dad and Scott unpack the groceries for extra trays of lasagna when he feels Derek move closer to him.

“Stiles, when we were walking back through the school, I noticed you were mumbling. Was that to maintain your ability to see the magic?”

“Hmm? What?”

“It’s just, you did the original incantation without speaking, so I wondered why you were talking out loud as we kept walking through the school.”

“Oh! No, that wasn’t about seeing the magic. I realized that we should also try to keep under the witch’s radar, so I was pulling traces of our presence with us, just to be safe. Sort of like she was doing, our smell and hopefully any magical traces from me.”

Derek’s breath catches and he gets an intense look in his eyes. Stiles also sees Derek’s nostrils flare. He thinks Derek may want to eat him alive. He has no idea why, but it feels like the good sort of eating and he is _so_ on board for this.

Scott, clueless as always and obviously not paying attention to the various signals around him, grabs Stiles’ shoulder. “Awesome, man! You’re so smart!”

Derek full on growls and moves to rip Scott’s paw away from Stiles.

Smartly, Scott jumps out of range before his alpha makes contact with his claws and Derek immediately crowd into Stiles, snuffling into his neck. Stiles is a little distracted, but thinks it was his dad who just dropped a box of pasta, probably shocked by how quickly Derek turned on his own beta.

Stiles tries to calm Derek down, but his mate is still all Alpha’d out, growling at everyone else while simultaneously trying to pull Stiles as close as possible, rubbing his wolfed out hands all over Stiles’ back under his shirt and licking at his neck.

Lydia, the genius queen that she is, surprises no one and fixes the problem.

“Okay you caveman, I’ll direct the betas in making the lasagna, you take Stiles up to his room and do what you need to do to calm down.”

Stiles can just barely hear his dad make a choking noise behind him. “Oh my god, my Dad heard that, Lydia!” Stiles hisses at her.

Derek just grunts, pulls Stiles into a fireman’s carry and hauls him upstairs to his room. He can distantly hear his Dad asking Lydia if Stiles is okay, because he didn’t see a whole lot of consent in that exchange. He will later find out from Scott how the rest of that conversation went down:

“Don’t worry Sheriff, we can all smell how _very_ much Stiles was into that.” Scott apparently wiggled his eyebrows at that, the jackass. “And part of being mates is never hurting the other, it’s something we just couldn’t do. Derek would rather cut his own arm off than do something to hurt Stiles.” Scott then paused and started to blush furiously. “Yeah, they are both totally fine up there. I just wish we could get some ear plugs or something, be happy you don’t have werewolf hearing.”

“Christ, kid. Don’t sugarcoat it or anything.” The Sheriff groaned, what has his life become?

“Sorry, Sheriff. But also, don’t forget that Stiles is wicked powerful, he could totally take care of Derek if he really wanted to. Does that make you feel better?”

His Dad apparently laughed at that one. “Yeah Scott, it actually does. Okay, let’s get this lasagna together. I’ll never hear the end of it from Stiles if we do it wrong. Oh, hey, let’s add real ground beef, none of that turkey shit. This is my one opportunity for red meat!”

Isaac then walked up and put his hand on the Sheriff’s shoulder with what Scott described as a guilty/sad look on his face. “I’m sorry sir, Stiles made us promise on the way here that no red meat was to be used. He can be a little scary, so we’re going to have to stick with the turkey, sir.” Stiles was happy and surprised to hear that Isaac actually spoke to his dad!

“That fucking kid, okay, fine.”

“Language.” Isaac mumbled with a small smirk on his face. Isaac might be Stiles new favorite for having the balls to be that snarky with his dad. He almost wishes he was there to see the exchange. Almost.

**************

Meanwhile, upstairs Stiles is doing his best to keep Derek from shredding their clothes.

“Der, come on, it’s just us up here. You can calm down a little. Just let me get our clothes off, okay? I happen to like this outfit, and I don’t want you ruining your clothes, either. What would you do, eat dinner naked? Wear my Dad’s clothes because we both know mine won’t fit you.”

Derek, having gone pre-verbal again, grunts but stops trying to destroy their clothes.

“That’s a good Alpha. Now, let me get you out of these, okay?”

And fuck, he gets to take Derek’s clothes off. Last time at the loft, Derek was already shirtless and just wearing those lose shorts and a jock strap. This is Derek outfitted in his standard tight-fitting, hot as hell regular clothes. Somehow this is a lot more overwhelming. He’s not afraid of Derek, never. He just hopes he doesn’t nut in his pants as he slowly reveals all the exquisite muscles under the clothes. Just breathe.

Stiles gives Derek a soft kiss on his still wolfy cheek, and reaches down to pull the Henley over his chest. Derek is surprisingly quiet and, if Stiles had to choose a word, he’d say docile. Derek’s face is slowly starting to shift back to human and he can see his claws retract. At some point he’s going to make an inappropriate Wolverine reference, he just knows it. Now is not the time.

Stiles gets the shirt pulled off of Derek who, like a giant kid, just lifts his arms in the air and ducks his head, making it easier for Stiles to pull it free. “Jesus, you are so beautiful.”

Derek starts doing that rumbling thing from somewhere in his chest and pulls Stiles to him for a warm, less frantic hug. Stiles smiles and starts unbuckling Derek’s belt so he can get his jeans off. As he works the button and zipper down, his fingers come into contact with coarse hair, and Stiles sucks in a breath because he just realized that Derek has been going commando in those tight ass pants. Pun intended.

He is seriously ill prepared for this level of sexiness in his life. Derek pulls back just enough so Stiles has some space to start pulling the jeans down Derek’s perfect ass and strong thighs. “Kick your shoes off for me.” Stiles asks softly and smiles when Derek does as asked. Then he squats down to pull the pants off the rest of the way, trying not to look up because he knows he’s basically eye level with an erect Alpha cock. He pulls off the pants and Derek’s socks, takes a breath, then looks up at his mate. Derek’s flushed and obviously turned on, but there’s a gentleness to his expression that gives Stiles courage. Moving on instinct alone, Stiles leans forward and buries his face in Derek’s groin and inhales., dragging his stupid upturned nose along the seam between Derek’s thigh and pelvis. He’s not a wolf, but all parts of Derek call to him, including how he smells. And right here, this is pure, unfiltered Derek.

Derek’s hand grabs the back of Stiles’ head, not to push but just to touch.   
“Fuck Stiles, do you realize you’re scenting me right now? This is as intimate as it gets for a wolf. You just do everything I need; how do you know exactly what I need?”

Stiles pulls back to look up at his mate. “What else do you need?”

Derek looks happily lost. “I need you to take your clothes off and get on the bed.”

Stiles’ heart starts to beat faster at that. He places a gentle, closed kiss at the tip of Derek’s dick before standing up again. Derek watches as he pulls off his usual uniform of flannel button up, graphic t-shirt, and jeans. Stiles momentarily pauses before pulling his red boxer briefs down. Last time he was naked so fast he didn’t have a chance to feel nervous or self-conscious. His anxiety must have been clear to Derek, who take’s Stiles face in both hands to look directly into his eyes. “Stiles, I know you’re not a wolf, but if you can, use your spark to believe that you can tell if I’m lying. Can you do that?”

Stiles thinks he can, so he believes that he will know the truth and nods at his mate. “Stiles, you are the most gorgeous creature I have ever seen. My need for you is more than physical. I love who you are just as much as I’m attracted to what I see. Don’t ever worry that you need to hide from me, because I love and want all of you.”

Stiles chokes up because the truth in those words was so obvious to his ears. He’s looking forward to a day when he doesn’t need Derek to reassure him, and he can’t help how overwhelmed he is with this man who genuinely loves him.

Derek pulls him in and rubs gentle, tantalizing circles along Stiles back. Soft, persistent human hands then dip under the elastic on Stiles’ briefs so that Derek can grab his ass with both hands.  
“Fuck, Stiles. Your ass is just perfect. I’m want to see it, grab it, taste it, all the fucking time.” Stiles cries out at the idea of Derek’s mouth on him. “Mmmmm. Is that what you want? For me to taste you?” Stiles pants into Derek’s neck; all he can do is nod. “If that’s what you want, that’s what we will do. It will be my absolute pleasure.”

Derek pulls his underwear the rest of the way off and Stiles kicks them, probably under the bed. No longer worried about his skinny body, he lets Derek lay him down on the bed.

Derek crawls over him and grabs a pillow. He lifts up Stiles hips and slides the pillow under his lower back, raising his ass off the bed comfortably. Then Derek settles down between Stiles thighs scents Stiles in the same way Stiles had done to Derek.

Stiles can hear that he’s panting and his heart rate skyrockets. But give him a break, he has one of the world’s most beautiful people’s sniffing and licking his groin. Then he lets out a startled squeak because he feels the flat of Derek’s tongue rub directly over his hole. “Oh my god. This is happening, this is really happening.” He’s pretty sure he babbles, but don’t ask him what he is saying. Eventually he devolves into moans and grunts as he gets closer and closer just from the incredible sensations produced by Derek’s tongue in his ass.

Stiles starts feeling desperate, like he’s on a precipice but can’t get over the edge. At some point he grabbed Derek’s head with abandon and started grinding onto his mate’s face without shame. The rough texture of his beard against all that sensitive skin, paired with the soft and wet laps of his tongue, is almost enough for him to come. Derek must know, because he takes a hand, licks it like the filthy guy he is, and starts jacking Stiles’ dick in concert with his tongue fucking his ass. That was all he needed, in less than 30 seconds Stiles blows apart. He thinks he may have squeezed Derek between his thighs while in the throes of one of the best orgasms of his life and is thankful that the werewolf is so hard to damage.

As Stiles starts to regain consciousness, he realizes that Derek is now laying on top of him, kissing, licking and marking his neck while he ruts against Stiles’ hip, Stiles’ cum helping to lubricate the thrusts. Knowing that Derek is so insistent on marking his territory should be alarming, but fuck if it doesn’t make Stiles even hotter. He also realizes that Derek is mumbling with every thrust.

“Mine. Can’t wait to knot you, mark you. My Stiles. My mate. Love you so much.”

“Love you, too, Sexywolf. Can’t imagine not being with you. Come on now, Derek. Come for me. Make this whole house smell like us and love and mates.”

At that, Derek whole body shutters and he lets out a groan that neighbors around the block probably heard. Stiles just smiles. That’s right. This gorgeous amazing man is his.

Derek immediately starts squirming, rubbing their combined cum all over them both. Stiles can even feel a hand sneak down and rub some into his still wet hole. God, he really can’t wait for the official claiming. Werewolf sex is hot as hell.

********** 

As the pair head back downstairs and Stiles tries not to blush. Derek seems to be torn between strutting around proudly and snuggling into Stiles who, he clearly thinks smells good again.

“Well mission accomplished.” Snarks Jackson who gives them a sarcastic hand salute. “Not that I had any burning desire to touch Stilinski, but we’ll all be keeping a 10-foot radius from him now.”

Stiles doesn’t mind, at least Jackson is distracting him from looking at his Dad.

The dinner is perfect, as should be expected under the direction of Lydia. While they eat, they work to make a plan. Scott asks if they drove Stiles around the town, would he be able to see the magic out the window, maybe get a sense of places that the witch is targeting or spending time while she’s away from the school. Stiles and the Sheriff think that’s a good idea and his Dad suggests closing public access to the Preserve as well.

They decide that Stiles will drive around with Derek, Scott and his Dad, just to be safe. Once they spot a sign of her, they will call the pack together and Stiles will mask their presence while they track her.

After dinner Stiles talks with Lydia, who thankfully doesn’t scrunch her nose when she is close to him. He’s worried that the witch be able to use magic against them and wonders how they can stay protected. Lydia recommends a consult with Deaton about ways to subdue her or to at least keep the pack members safe from her.

They walk into his Dad’s office to make the call, away from all the noise produced by the rest of the pack. Deaton agrees that it’s something to be concerned about and decides that the best approach will be to cast protection runes on all pack members before their confrontation. He also suggests another rune that might be handy if there is need and emails the details to both Stiles and Lydia, being his typical cryptic self. Deaton then orders Stiles to get as much rest as possible and stay hydrated and fed because he will need lots of energy to expend so much magic.

Apparently, his mate was listening and Derek and father take Deaton’s order VERY seriously, much to his annoyance.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The penultimate chapter! Enjoy.

Derek stays over that night, which is helpful because Stiles sleeps better in his arms than he has ever slept in his life. He wasn’t expecting Derek to barge into his shower in the morning, but apparently the thought of washing their scent off his skin was a definite no-no for the Alpha. Aside from the embarrassment of knowing his father knew exactly what was going on in there, Stiles could really get use to all these amazing orgasms. And cuddles.

And while Stiles was anxious to get started, his dad and mate forced a huge breakfast on him. Normally he would never complain about eggs, pancakes and bacon, but he is anxious to get outside and stop the witch from hurting anyone else. It doesn’t matter, the two most important men in his life just stare at him until he eats it all. Damn you, Deaton.

They finally leave the house in the police cruiser, and Stiles can’t stop laughing at the pissed off look on Derek’s face because he’s currently in the back seat behind the grate like a criminal. His dad refused to let anyone else drive the cruiser, and Stiles needed to be up front for better visibility. Derek’s Camaro would have been too uncomfortable for people in the back seat, and both Derek and the Sheriff vetoed the Jeep. They pick up Scott who scrunches his nose and gives Derek an eye roll, Stiles guesses that their ‘love aroma’ is a bit strong in such an enclosed space, but oh well.

They drive around town and Stiles focuses on spotting traces of magic in the air. He decides to keep his window open just in case the glass is able to obstruct his ability to _see_ the magic.

Scott cell phone rings about 20 minutes into their drive and Derek mumbles that it’s from Lydia. Mid-way through the conversation Derek starts shouting at the Sheriff. “We need to turn the car around right now.”

As a show of faith in his mate, the Sheriff instantly turns on the cruiser lights and siren and pulls a U-turn. “Where do we need to go?”

At the same time Stiles starts shouting. “What the hell? What’s going on?”

Scott ends the call with Lydia and fills them in. “Lydia thinks we need to head to the day care center near the Preserve, the one called Little Lamb, she has a feeling that there’s going to be a death soon. She can’t explain it, but it totally makes sense. It’s near the woods and it’s kids. Fuck, we need to get there fast. She’s calling everyone to have us all meet up there.”

Stiles feels panic start to take hold at the idea that such a young child might be killed. God, if they don’t stop this none of them will be able to forgive themselves. 

The Sheriff seems to know the exact location and they all stay fairly quiet on the fast drive across town. They rush into the parking lot and Stiles runs to the back of the property that edges the woods. There is a fenced in outdoor play area and he instantly sees the magic hanging in the air. It’s very fresh, and it trails into the forest. He can actually see two streams, one where she must have come in from the woods and another leading away; the one leading away is fresher.

Lydia and Jackson are already there, waiting for Stiles to lead the way, though Lydia seems like she might not need him. Stiles knows the banshee has been working extraordinarily hard to hone her skills, and though she looks tired she is also fiercely determined.

Not willing to waste any time waiting for Parish and the rest of the pack to arrive, Stiles begins scribing protection runes on everyone there. Once done, Derek, Stiles, Scott, Lydia and Jackson head into the woods while the Sheriff goes into the day care center to lock it down and wait for the rest of the group to meet them. The Sheriff is in touch with Parish who will gather them all in the parking area and he will get directions from Scott via text about where they are in the woods. The wolves won’t be able to track them because Stiles is covering their traces as they move.

Stiles can see the magic getting darker and vibrant, indicating it is extremely fresh. He grabs Derek’s arm and indicates that they need to stop and take stock, being as quiet as possible. Then walk just a bit farther and spot a small clearing through the woods ahead of them. They stay where they are, still hidden in the trees, but they can see a grotesque blue figure stretched out over a small, unconscious child on the ground. Stiles guesses that the kid is a toddler at most.

Stiles and Lydia make eye contact and he nods, knowing what she wants to do. They discussed this possible plan of action the night before with Derek. He taps Derek, Scott, and Jackson to get their attention and silently begins to scribe another rune on each of them, then on himself. Only Lydia is excluded from getting this new protection and Jackson looks livid about it until Lydia grabs his hand and squeezes. Stiles and Lydia figured out the night before how they might take advantage of this additional protection that Deaton suggested, but knew that the wolves would be a little hesitant about the risks so they decided to keep it to themselves. Stiles got Lydia to agree to discuss it with Derek, unwilling to deceive him. Derek reluctantly agreed with them.

Lydia looks them all in the eye and motions for them to move back behind her, which goes against every wolf instinct in the men, but Stiles pushes her forward. Stiles makes sure to grab onto Derek and look him in the eye, doing everything he can to silently convey that he and Lydia know what they are doing and to please trust them. He can tell that Derek, as Alpha, is struggling with this. Stiles squeezes his hand and finally Derek nods. Later, Stiles will take the time to appreciate what an important gesture this is, that the Alpha is trusting him so deeply.

Lydia straightens her shoulders and smiles a truly terrifying smile. Stiles is so glad they are on the same side.

She walks forward and Stiles draws away the magic keeping them silent, intentionally making her presence known to the witch. Stiles looks frantically at the child and sees no blood. He makes a thankful prayer to the gods that the child also appears to be alive but unconscious, so it won’t have to experience what is about to happen.

The blue witch rears away from the body and stares at Lydia before moving inhumanly fast toward her, the rusty iron claws stretched forward in a clear attack pose.

Before any of the wolves can try to intervene, Lydia lets out a scream that blasts leaves and small branches from the surrounding trees. Stiles is in awe watching her, and super grateful that the rune he cast is keeping their ear drums from exploding. The witch was not expecting a banshee scream and is literally thrown to the ground, writhing in pain from the mountain of sound.

Stiles immediately takes action and runs to cover the child with his body, instinctively throwing up some sort of protective bubble around them, trusting the rest of their group to finish off the witch. Lydia is ready to scream again if necessary, but doesn’t want to hurt the child or the rest of the pack who are likely getting closer but who don’t have the rune to block her scream. Stiles sees the wolves converge on the witch who has now gotten her feet under her, but they have her semi-surrounded.

He’s relieved to see that the child, a little girl he thinks, is breathing and doesn’t seem to have any wounds aside from bleeding ears, the poor thing.

The rest of the pack arrive, including the Sheriff and Parish. They all run to try to tighten the circle around the witch, as Stiles gets more and more tired from all the magic he’s expending. He thinks he may be unintentionally healing the child with his magic, which is adding to his exhaustion but he can’t seem to help himself.

He notices that Peter hovers close to Parish, more so than any other individuals in the circle surrounding the witch. He’ll have to think about that later but thinks it’s a good thing. Stiles absently realizes that Parish is probably the most vulnerable member of the group, since at least his Dad has the protection runes Stiles created before heading into the woods.

It’s as if the witch figures out the same thing at the same time and decides that targeting Parish is her only option of escape.

Stiles watches it all from a short distance away and realizes what is about to happen, like he can see her magic starting to build up as her eyes focus on Jordan.

And again, on instinct alone, he screams and throws his hand toward Parish, adding a protective bubble around the Deputy, much like the one around him and the child.

It’s done just in time because a blast of her magic ricochet’s off the bubble and blasts right back at the witch. Stiles has a moment to enjoy the karma of it all, before he passes out.

************

Stiles wakes up feeling like he’s floating on a cloud. He’s warm and fuzzy and feels awesome. He turns his head and finds a face pressed into his neck.

“D’rek?” Warm arms tighten around him and he realizes that Derek is all over him, touching him in every possible place and my god this is definitely the way to wake up.

“Stiles, you’re awake. Fuck, you scared me.”

Stiles hums, manages to find the energy to hug Derek back, rub his forehead against Derek’s soft hair. “I’m fine big guy, feel like I’m on the good drugs. What is happening?”

“Stiles, you over-extended yourself by using too much magic; you’ve been sleeping for about a day.”

“Dad? Where are you?”

His dad wanders into his line of sight, but Derek makes zero indication that he plans to move. His dad rubs his hand through Stiles hair and Derek makes a very non-threatening grumble. “Dad, is the little kid okay? What about the witch? Did anyone get hurt?”

Like Derek can sense Stiles growing anxiety, eating away at the awesome floaty sensation he was feeling, Derek starts to do that purring thing again, rubbing his hand up and down Stiles’ ribs. He admits, it does calm him down.

Also, huh, he’s not wearing a shirt. Okay.

“Stiles they are all fine. The child didn’t wake up until after they dealt with the witch, and according to Deaton, any physical harm to the kid was fixed by your magic. You were the only one with any lasting issues. Well, aside from the witch.”

At that, Derek wines, honest to god wines like a scared puppy, and hugs Stiles even closer. Stiles’ emotions are all over the place, clearly, because he had to stifle a laugh at the pathetic sound coming from the big bad Alpha. “Shhh, babe I’m fine, I just needed some sleep. Dad, how long has he been here?”

His dad just gives him a look that telegraphs, “Are you seriously asking that question?”

“Oh my god, has he been attached to me this whole time?”

Derek grumbles and finally pulls his head out of Stiles neck so he can look at him. “You were in pain, I’ve been pulling it from you until you were ready to wake up. I can’t leave you.”

“Alright, alright. Hush. I’m fine, we’re all fine. Now come on, I’m fucking starving. And I definitely need a shower.”

And back he goes into my neck. “No, you smell good. Smell like us.”

“Whoa, Derek, did you seriously do that while I was unconscious? Dude, I mean, okay I would have consented to that but you gotta give me the chance to consent!”

Derek jumps back, looking panicked. “NO! Oh my god of course I didn’t do that. You just smell good because our skin has been in contact for hours and hours. That’s all, I swear Stiles.”

“And that’s more than I needed to hear. Have you two forgotten about our deal? My ears and eyes are supposed to be shielded from any mate sex business. Why is this so hard?” He’s muttering to himself as he rushes out of the room. Stiles snickers and pulls Derek in for a very ‘stale-breath but who the fuck cares’ kiss.

“Love you, Cuddlewolf. Now, let’s go get some food because I’m going to need that before I have the energy to shower. And yes, you can join me in the shower you ridiculous wolf.”


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end! Hopefully some of you have time to finish it up over the weekend. It was so much fun writing this fic, and all of your support and wonderful comments kept me motivated. I may, sometime down the road, add a second ancillary story on Peter and Parish, but not immediately. Either way, thanks again for reading!

Stiles found out later that Deaton worked with the Sheriff to make the dead witch retain her human appearance for official documentation. Stiles makes the doctor promise to teach him how to do it later because that sounds cool.

Stiles and Derek invite everyone to the loft the next Friday night for a celebration, including Deaton, Melissa, his Dad, and Parish. Stiles is a little anxious about inviting Parish, but thinks that the sooner the new pack dynamic becomes normal, the better for everyone. Stiles is also stupidly excited that the party invitation and planning was done by both him and Derek, as a couple. A hopefully soon-to-be mated Alpha-Spark couple.

Stiles, Derek, Isaac and Peter have been getting the loft ready for the party, mainly to Stiles’ specifications. He appreciates that the wolves haven’t complained yet from all the orders he keeps giving them. Derek seems weirdly turned on by it, and Isaac and Peter just smile at him fondly. Whatever.

Stiles grins when his Dad and Melissa are the first to arrive. Together. Well, well, well. Stiles walks over to give them both hugs, thankfully without the threat of violence from Derek. He gives his Dad a wry look, only to have it turned right back at him. Dammit. It’s hard to out-Stilinski a Stilinski.

Everyone else starts arriving a few minutes later. Stiles notices that Parish walks in with Lydia and Jackson, and that the deputy walks right over to sit by Peter. He’s trying to stay out of it, but the inner-gossip in him is DYING to know what’s going on there.

Stiles wanders back to the kitchen and gives Derek a quick kiss to his scruffy cheek. They’re about to pull out the last of the warm hors d’oeuvres from the oven when he hears someone clear their throat close by. They turn around and see Parish, who obviously wants to speak with them.

“Hi Deputy, we’re glad you decided to come tonight.” Stiles can be polite.

Parish looks right at Stiles. “Thanks for inviting me. I know I didn’t deserve it from how I’ve behaved.” He looks down at the ground and clears his throat before continuing. “You saved my life, Stiles. I’m not sure why, but I’m grateful.”

Stiles really doesn’t handle compliments well and can feel himself blushing. Thankfully Derek responds for him. “Of course he saved you, Jordan. That’s the sort of person he is, and neither of us would want you to be hurt.”

Parish gives them both a small smile. “I’m glad you found each other. I get it now.” He extends his hand to Stiles and Stiles takes it. “I’m glad you’re okay. Thanks, Jordan.” Then Stiles, unable to help himself, stretches his mouth into a wide smirk. “Besides, if you have Peter chasing after you now, you will need all the help you can get.”

Jordan chocks on a shocked laugh and Derek just sighs and shakes his head. This is going to be fun. Time to turn the tables on Peter and get back at him for all the times he messed with Derek. He looks over at the man in question who is quietly laughing at him.

***********

All the guests are settled at various places around the coffee table, some on the couch, some on the chairs, some on cushions on the floor. Stiles wishes it was always like this, being surrounded with people he cares about, who he knows care about him. It’s been just over 6 months and his life and world are so completely different. He’s not lonely anymore.

Stiles is sitting across Derek’s lap, not to be provocative, but it’s a way for Derek to keep his instincts in check with so many people nearby. Scott and Kira are sharing the couch with them and Stiles finds himself wondering out loud about how all of this came to be.

“Hey Scott, you know that none of this would have happened if you hadn’t sat next to me on the first day of school.”

Scott gives him a huge smile. “I’m so glad I did, dude!”

“Why did you do that, by the way? Why did you pick my table?”

Scott gives him a confused sort of look. “I don’t’ know. It just felt like the best spot or something, and you looked like you would be nice.”

Stiles realizes this conversation has caught more attention, particularly that of Derek and Deaton who look at him with a weird expression on their faces. “What?”

“Why did Scott sit next to you?” Derek asks. “The pack always sticks to themselves, why did he take to you so fast and introduce you to the rest of the pack immediately?” Derek is looking at them both now, and Stiles can’t tell if he’s in trouble for something, but it sort of feels like he is.

“Are you saying he shouldn’t have befriended me? That you can’t understand why he would like me? What the hell kind of thing is that to say to your mate!”

“No, Stiles.” Deaton jumps in. “That’s now what Derek was implying at all. Stiles, what were you doing or thinking about when you went to school that day? Do you remember?”

Trying to calm down and not feel offended, he tries to remember that day. So much has changed since then. Derek gives him a gentle supportive squeeze to his neck, clearly trying to apologize for alarming him.

“Well, I was sitting in Roscoe, trying to calm down and convince myself that the new school was a good thing, a new start. That I might make actual real friends here. I was just determined to make at least one friend. I was repeating it over and… oh. Oh my god.”

Now Stiles feels horrified as he looks between Scott, Derek and Deaton. “Oh my god, I magicked all of you into liking me. Oh my god, no no no no no.”

Stiles can sort of make out Scott trying to calm him down, to convince him that they are real friends. But all he can see is Derek who is now holding his face in his large warm hands, looking him right in the eyes. “Stiles, you didn’t force anything. Look at me, listen to me. Stiles, we all love you and it’s not because you forced us.”

Stiles feels a hand on his shoulder. It’s Deaton. “Stiles, your magic can’t force pack bonds, force emotions. Any relationships you developed are genuine.”

Stiles rests his forehead against Derek and tries to calm his breathing. “Then what were you two implying? Obviously I did something with my spark that affected Scott.”

Deaton hums thoughtfully. “What I, and I suspect Derek, just realized is that your Spark is what pulled Scott to sit by you that first day. That your wishes to make a friend helped the two of you find each other so quickly. You would have been close friends whenever you two met, but I think your Spark facilitated the meeting.”

“Dude, that’s so awesome! It’s like your magic knew we were meant to be best friends! We’re like, predestined bros!”

“Whoa, Scott I didn’t know you even knew the word predestined. Nice!”

Scott and Stiles fall into a fit of giggles, and Derek snorts. Clearly the panic has passed.

Once he’s calmed down and snuggled back into the warmth of Derek’s arms, he hears a quiet mumble in his ear from his mate.

“Someday soon, you won’t doubt yourself and what you mean to this pack. I will spend every day for the rest of my life to convince you of your worth and how much you mean to all of us.”

Stiles can’t wait for that day, and feels so fortunate to have found Derek who doesn’t get frustrated with him. He just hugs Derek tighter, knowing that his wolf understands.

***********

Stiles eventually got distracted talking with Deaton and Lydia about magic and their training plan. He looks up and sees other small groups have sorted throughout the loft. Peter just whispered something that made Parish blush on the couch, no surprise there. Scott, Kira and Melissa are hanging out in the kitchen, Isaac, Boyd , Jackson and Erica are playing cards at the dining room table, and Derek and his Dad are in deep discussion near the spiral staircase. He wishes he had werewolf hearing because the expressions on their faces are pretty entertaining. He can tell his Dad is trying to maintain his “serious” face but is close to cracking, whereas Derek looks a little flustered but also really happy. He notices that Derek has stopped talking and is just looking at his Dad, like he’s waiting for something. Then his Dad pulls Derek in for a signature Stilinski Bone Crushing Hug. Stiles feels his emotions coming on strong because he knows how much Derek misses his family and his parents. God, he loves them both so much. He also has an idea what is going on, something he and Derek spoke about, but he was trying not to think about it and get his hopes up for tonight. When he watches them let go and Derek turns to him, eyes red and intense, he knows exactly what is about to happen.

Without even realizing it, Stiles stands and walks toward Derek. Derek meets him half-way, grabs Stiles’ hand, and drags them both to the center of the loft living space. He gets down on his knees and grabs both of Stile’s hands, which are now shaking. “Stiles Stilinski, you have brought a joy and peace into my life that I never thought I could have. Your strength, beauty, and sarcastic personality have become an integral part of what I need to exist. In front of our pack, of all of those who we love and care for, will you do me the honor of becoming my Alpha Mate?”

A light bulb over the island in the kitchen may have exploded, but Stiles is not paying close attention. All he can see is Derek. He still wonders how he got this lucky, but he’s not going to question it. He kneels down so they are equal, holds Derek’s precious face in both of his hands, and whispers into Derek’s lips, “Yes. Forever yes, yes, yes.”

*************

By the time they come up for air, they are alone in the loft. Derek stands and takes Stiles’ hand and together they walk up the spiral stairs and into Derek’s bedroom.

Stiles thought he might feel a bit embarrassed since all the people he’s close to in the world know that he and Derek are about to have sex, the real deal, mating knots and all. Well, hopefully his Dad has been spared the graphic details, but he’s pretty sure Peter filled him in just to torment the man. Because, Peter.

Instead, Stiles feels excited and oddly calm. He smiles as he takes a glance at Derek’s bedside table which has a few new additions since the last time he was up here. Next to the frame of Derek’s family, Derek added a photo of the two of them that Stiles has never seen; it looks like it was taken while they were snuggling on the couch during a pack movie night. He wonders who took it. And next to the frame is the potted succulents that Stiles gave Derek for Christmas.

“Der, when did you bring the plants up here? I thought you had them in the kitchen?”

Derek smiles as he looks over at his nightstand. “I’ve been needing more of you in this space, anything to make me feel like part of you is here with me. The plant always makes me smile, so I brought it up yesterday.”

“I don’t know if anyone would believe me if I told them how sweet you really are. I love that I get to see you like this, that you are willing to be like this with me.”

Derek walks over and pulls Stiles in for a gentle but deep kiss. “Stiles, after tonight, we will be as close as two beings can be. I trust you with my life and I feel so grateful that it’s to have you. Are you sure you’re ready and that you understand what will happen? Once we start, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to stop if you change your mind.”

Stiles answers by pulling his shirt over his head and throwing it toward the hamper. “I’m as sure as I need air to breath. And also, you would stop if I needed you to. You won’t ever hurt me, Derek. Now come here, make me your mate.”

Derek’s whole body shivers, and once he’s in control he pulls his shirt off, too. Stiles is working on his pants, and before he knows it, he is naked and has a very naked Derek Hale pulling his back against his chest and can feel Derek’s hard cock pressing against his ass.

“God, Derek. I’ve been dying to have you in me for so long. Nothing else is enough for me anymore.”

Derek hums into the back of Stiles’ neck and the vibration from it, paired with the gentle scratches from his whiskers, send chills down Stiles’ spine. “Stiles, you’ve imagined me in you? Tell me.”

Stiles hums and rubs back against Derek, remembering. “Yeah. God, yes I have. Do you remember? That night when you climbed in my window?”

Derek groans and moves his hands to start rubbing up and down Stiles’ chest and stomach. “Yeah, I remember. I was barely able to keep myself from wolfing out and taking you. The smells in that room, and you looked so good and fucked out. I think I dented the underside of your chair because I was holding onto it to keep myself away from you.”

“God, Der. That night was all you. I was so desperate for you and it had been so long since I had a chance to take my time. That night I had my dildo up my ass and all I could think about was you, wanting you, wondering how you would feel, if you could ever want me that way. You climbed in only 5 minutes after I finished and I had no idea you knew, but I worried you heard me call your name.”

Derek’s dick drips as he rubs insistently between Stiles cheeks; his hands are focused on pinching one of Stiles nipples and jacking Stiles’ hard cock. The trio of sensations make Stiles feel desperate and needy.

“Stiles, I need to be in you, need to feel all of you. Come on, get on the bed for me.”

Derek pulls away from Stiles and moves him toward the bed which has been turned down.

“Stay on your stomach. Tonight, with my knot buried deep inside you, this position will be the most comfortable while we’re tied together.”

Stiles moans into the sheets and can’t stop fucking into the bed, so turned on at the idea of taking Derek’s knot.

He feels a dip in the bed and knows that Derek has joined him. Derek lays directly over Stiles, covering his body with warmth. Derek gently turns his face so he can lean down for a kiss. “I can’t wait to make you mine, to be yours.” He kisses the tip of Stiles’ nose before moving down the bed.

“I’m going to prep you until you can take 4 of my fingers, you need to be stretched and relaxed and I refuse to hurt you.”

“I got it, Der. Just get in me already, I’m dying here.”

Derek laughs and Stiles can feel his breath ghost across the underside of his balls. Fuck, that feels incredible. Then Derek flattens his tongue, drags it up the underside of Stiles dick which is pushed under him, up over the seam of his balls, over his perineum, then right over his rim.

Oh god, he can’t wait. The last time Derek did this it was fucking incredible. He might be babbling, but he’s not sure. Derek alternates between soft, teasing kitten licks and hard, wet presses of his tongue. Stiles loves it all.

Needing leverage, Stiles bends his knees under him so he can press back into Derek. He even reaches an arm back so he can grab the back of Derek’s head and pull him in tighter. Derek seems to love this, loves Stiles taking what he needs.

“Der. God, Derek. Need something in me, come on, please.”

Stiles hears a click and thinks that Derek has opened the bottle of lube he saw ready on the bed. He turns his head in time to see Derek’s red-stained eyes zeroed in on his ass and feels the pressure of one of Derek’s blunt fingers push into his hole.   
“Yessssss. God yes, come on, you won’t hurt me, give me more.”

Derek groans and presses the rest of his finger in, and Stiles was right, it feels totally different from when he does this to himself.

He gets lost in sensation, Derek has three fingers buried deep and it feels incredible. Every once in a while they bend and graze over his prostate and Stiles thinks he will literally explode if he isn’t able to come soon.   
“Der, need you. Need to come. Please, please, please.”

Then he feels a fourth finger and wow, that is some serious pressure. He’s never felt this full, but honestly it’s not really painful. He tries to push back, take it in as deep as he can and groans at how amazing it feels to have so much of Derek inside him.

“Stiles, I can’t wait any longer. Are you ready for me?”  
“Yes, Jesus, please get in me. Need you.”

Derek pulls his fingers free and Stiles cries out at the loss. But moments later he can feel the blunt head of Derek’s cock pressing at his entrance. He knows he’s well prepared, so he pushes back, surprising his wolf, who slides right in.

“Jesus Christ, Stiles.” Derek hisses at the shock and grabs Stiles hips so he can’t move. “You are going to make me come before my knot can even form, just hang on. God you feel incredible.”

He hears Derek take a few ragged breaths and waits impatiently for the man to start to move. Finally, Derek pulls almost all of the way out and pauses. Stiles holds his breath in anticipation.

Derek slams back into Stiles and screams “Mine!”, and Stiles feels close to blacking out. Derek’s long, thick dick is rubbing against everything that feels good. Stiles has never felt anything like the sensations running through him right now. He presses his hands against the headboard so he can push back as hard as possible, desperate for more of Derek.

Derek sets a brutal pace, and Stiles can’t focus on who is making which noises. Part of him wants to get a hand on his dick for some relief, but he can’t let go of the headboard and lose his leverage.

Derek hitches his ass even higher and raises one of his knees up so that he can plant a foot on the bed, and Stiles realizes this gives Derek even more power to thrust into him. Stiles is crying in agonizing pleasure and can feel his dick swinging and regularly slapping up against his stomach with the force of Derek’s thrusts.

“Stiles, my knot is starting to form, get ready baby.”

Stiles whines and feels more pressure around his rim every time Derek pulls in and out. He didn’t think this could feel any more incredible, but he was wrong.

“Der. Der. Oh god, I can feel it. Feels incredible. I want it. Come on, do it. Fuck, please.”

Derek drops his knee back to the bed and drapes himself over Stiles’ back as he continues to piston in and out of him. Stiles thinks that soon he won’t be able to get in or out, the knot has gotten so large.

Derek whispers into his throat. “Almost there, baby. Fuck you’re incredible, taking it so well. Just let me back in, one more time.”

Stiles can feel Derek struggle to get the knot passed his rim, and so he bears down and pushes back with everything he has. They both groan when it pops through. Derek makes small, rubbing thrusts now and each one puts delicious, constant pressure on Stiles prostate. He’s going to come from that alone and can feel his balls start to pull in tight.

“Gonna come Der, gonna come on your knot.”

Right as Stiles starts to come, his ass clamps down on Derek’s knot and the werewolf roars. Stiles feels a brief shock of pain as Derek’s fanged mouth bites down on his neck and can feel the knot in his ass contracting as Derek releases into him. Stiles vision goes white and he passes out.

**********

Stiles comes back to reality slowly. He’s been moved so that he’s lying on his side, the little spoon to Derek’s warmth against his back. He can still feel the Alpha buried deep inside him and can’t believe how incredible it feels. Derek is gently licking at the bite on his neck, and his arms are wrapped around Stiles and rubbing gently across his stomach and chest.

Stiles closes his eyes and realizes that something is different. It’s almost impossible to describe, but he can feel Derek inside of him, and not just his dick. He can feel what Derek is feeling, how elated and sated he is. He also realizes that the room smells incredible, like nothing he’s ever experienced before. He thinks it’s the smell of the two of them combined, and can finally understand a bit of what Derek tried to explain to him.

“Derek. Am I now able to smell like a wolf? Because I’ve never been able to smell or pick up meaning from odors before, and this room smells fucking incredible.”

He can feel Derek smile against his neck. “It’s been said that Alpha-Spark bonds can create a channel to share abilities. That must be what’s happening.”

“Jesus, do all mated couples smell like this? I want to bottle it. I think I can come again just from how incredible we smell right now.”

Derek laughs. “I understand. It is probably even more overwhelming for you since you’ve never experienced it before. And no, in my opinion, no other couple smells quite as good as we do.”

Stiles is pretty sure he is feeling his mate gloating through the bond. “Am I feeling your emotions through the bond?”  
Derek’s chest rumbles in that way that Stiles can’t get enough of. “Yes, that happens with any type of mated couple. The bond will help us to locate one another, and to know how we’re feeling. If we’re in danger, if we’re angry or upset, or at times like this when we feel joy and love.”

Stiles just hugs Derek’s arms even tighter to him, overwhelmed with his happiness. He notices shaking and wetness coming from Derek behind him. Is his mate crying? He only senses happiness from him. “Der, hey, are you okay? What’s wrong? Talk to me, I can’t turn around to see you.”

Derek takes in a shaky breath. “I never thought I would get this. I don’t deserve it after what happened to my family. I’ve never felt this whole before, even before we lost them. I’ll never be able to thank you enough for what you have given me. Fuck. Stiles you’ve made me so happy.”

“Dude, now I’m leaking from my eyes. Stop that. No thanking. We are equals here, you’ve given me just as much. More than I ever knew I could even wish for. You can hear the truth in that.” Stiles pauses to let Derek breathe and calm down. “And, let me just say, that I never knew knotted sex was a real thing aside from the animal planet, but we will be doing this all the time, right? Because I’ve never felt anything as incredible as that in my life. It’s not just this one time, right?”

Derek laughs, “No, not just this time. But, I hope that doesn’t mean you don’t want to fuck me sometimes. My wolf and I _really_ want that, too.”

“Oh my god. Oh my god.” Stiles dick is officially out of commission for at least another 10 minutes, but he can’t help the clenching Derek’s words trigger, which then seems to have triggered another small orgasm in his mate who just had his knot squeezed unexpectedly. Derek shivers and moans, making small aborted thrusts as his dick pulses even more into Stiles.

“Yes to that, Der, just in case that wasn’t clear. All the yesses.”

Derek rumbles again, trying to calm himself.

If only Stiles could turn off his brain. Oh well, Derek knew what he was getting himself into. “So, can you just keep coming? Like if I keep squeezing will you just keep doing it?”  
“Stiles.” Derek sounds fondly exasperated. “Let’s try to sleep a bit, wait for my knot to shrink.”

“But then we get to do this again, right? I mean, we are free of my dad, Peter and Isaac. We really need to make the most of tonight.”

Derek just laughs. “Don’t worry, werewolf refractory periods are pretty much nonexistent. I think we’ll be okay.”

Stiles just smiles as he whispers. “Wow. Best mate, ever.”

\--- The End ---

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [I Can (Not) Smell You](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23284975) by [buffer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/buffer/pseuds/buffer)




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